A Woman's Worth
by Cher Sue
Summary: AH/AU–Love hurts. This story takes on a literal meaning when Elena is a victim of abuse by her boyfriend. A journey of the silent sufferings of a girl with no one to turn to and unwilling to ask for help. Enters Damon, a social worker determined to rescue a damsel in distress and falling for her along the way. What is he willing to sacrifice in the end to save a girl he loves?
1. Chapter 1

**Hello again! I know I was supposed to write the Victorian era story, but somehow this story sort of fell into my lap one day quite recently. I'm dedicating this to Kate Southward, a victim who succumbed to her injuries on Friday, October 5****th****, 2012 after a brutal attack from her boyfriend of five years. She was the cousin of one of my friends, Angela, whom I met on FFnet through Separate Beds.**

**I think that domestic abuse/violence is a serious crime, and it should be known that it **_**does**_** happen…not only to anonymous people you read about in the papers, but it may very well happen to someone you know, even your loved ones. Spread the word. Be informed of this kind of tragedy. I'm hoping that this story will open your eyes to the harsh reality that some people have to face on a daily basis. If you are a victim, seek help immediately. If you know a victim, even if it's just a hunch, tell someone. You just might save a life. **

**Thank you to Angela for her permission to write this story, and to Kristi, my newly appointed beta for her awesome skills and input. Also to Kate for her support and encouragement, and finally to Carol, whose in-depth knowledge of medical terms and conditions doesn't make me sound like an idiot….yet. It's only the first chapter, after all. I'm sure I **_**will**_** sound like an idiot sooner or later. **

**Disclaimer: Character names are based on the TV series, The Vampire Diaries. Plot and dialogues are all mine. This is an AH/AU story except for Mason's character. There's nothing remotely human about him in this story. **

**I wanted to say enjoy the chapter, but somehow it wasn't an appropriate usage of the word.**

* * *

**A Woman's Worth: Chapter One**

"Hello," I announce nervously as I rise to my feet, feeling everyone's focus suddenly shift onto me. Averting my gaze from all the unwanted attention, I scan the room frantically until I meet a pair of startling blue eyes. These eyes are kind, supportive, understanding and patient. The owner of the spell-binding eyes gives me an encouraging nod and a soft smile, and I can feel my racing heart slow down, calming me, as my whole body relaxes with a kind of inner peace that only _he_ can provide.

Bracing myself with a deep breath, I continue, "My name is Elena Gilbert. I'm twenty-one years old and I am a survivor of physical and emotional abuse."

* * *

It all started with a single word.

"No."

That was all it took for my boyfriend of two years to lose his temper. I watched in surprise as Mason gritted his teeth, his hands in fists beside him, eyes blood-shot from the alcohol he had consumed throughout the evening. I could see the disappointment in his stare, judging me for the single-worded denial. For a moment there, I didn't recognize the man in front of me.

I vaguely recalled what happened next as it was too fast for my mind to comprehend; I was slammed backwards against the front door, his fingers wrapped around my neck in a death grip as he exhaled roughly against my face, his alcohol-breath nearly gagging me. I could feel the doorknob digging into my spine as I struggled to draw in air through my constricted airways, my eyes blurring with tears at the unprovoked attack.

"Mason," I managed to croak out with my last ounce of breath, and then as quickly as he lost control, his fingers released my throat, allowing me to gulp in deep breaths. I watched warily as his face veered from anger to horror within the time it took for my lungs to work again and in an instant, he was back to the man I had fallen in love with again; curly light brown hair, kind blue eyes and square jaw.

"Oh God, Elena," he choked out, regret evident in his eyes as they looked me over for signs of bruises. "I'm so sorry, babe. I don't know what came over me. Are you okay?" _This_ time, his hands were gentle when he laid them on my neck, tilting my head up to inspect where he held me so tightly against the door earlier.

_Of course_ I wasn't okay. I was just thrown violently against a doorknob and had the breath choked out of me by my boyfriend on his birthday. The day was twice as special since it was also our second anniversary of us being a couple and even though I was reluctant, Mason had convinced me to go out to a bar with a bunch of his colleagues. They were rowdy, wild, drunk and had a tendency to stare at me as if I was a prize to be won, which in turn sparked off the jealousy that led to this moment in the first place.

As eager as he was to prove to his 'friends' that I belonged to him, Mason began to paw at me drunkenly right in front of them, silencing my objections with sloppy kisses and wandering hands. It took all of my strength to push him away long enough to mumble some excuses to the watching crowd and pulled him towards the exit to flag down a taxi to take us home.

I wasn't the type that was comfortable with public displays of affection, but apparently, he had no such reservation, as proven when he began to slide his hands under the hem of my skirt while pressing his lips along my neck as I struggled against him, ever mindful of the watchful eyes of the taxi driver through the rearview mirror. I had to slap his hands away and promised to pick up where we left off once we reached home for him to cease and desist, and I was grateful for the brief respite as the journey continued without any further issues.

To say that I was upset over the fact that Mason was drunk was an understatement. He had always had trouble holding his liquor and whenever he became inebriated, it usually didn't bode well for me. I was always the recipient of his angry verbal tirades or his rougher sexual treatments that bordered on pain rather than pleasure. The morning-afters were the worst; Mason in a good mood was the perfect boyfriend, but Mason in a bad mood suffering from a major hangover was borderline psychotic. I had learnt my lesson and usually stayed out of his way or just became as agreeable as possible. Sometimes, even _that_ pissed him off.

So, when the taxi dropped us off at the front lawn of the house I shared with Mason for the past year, I stalked angrily into the house with a swaying drunk right behind me. The moment we entered through the front door, he proceeded to spin me around, planting his lips against mine, perfectly oblivious to the fact that I was attempting to break free from his hold. And then I uttered that one word that prompted the start of the nightmare that was my life from that point on, if only I'd realized it at the time.

If only.

"I'm sorry, Elena. I just wanted you so badly that I didn't realize my own strength," Mason whispered when I failed to respond to his earlier question, his arms wrapped around me, making me wince slightly when they brushed against the tender spot where the doorknob had hit the small of my back as he began to kiss away the tears that ran down my cheeks unknowingly. My heart squeezed painfully at the opposing thoughts in my head; one, was confusion over his sudden violent outburst and the other, was his tenderness right after, genuinely apologetic and repentant over scaring me the way he did.

"I love you, babe. I didn't mean to hurt you. Please, I love you," he murmured achingly, and just like that, hearing his declaration of love for me, I forgave him.

That was my first mistake.

* * *

The second time it happened, barely 3 months since the first incident, I was convinced that it was completely my fault. Mason had _had_ an extremely bad day at the office after losing one of his major accounts, which earned him an earful from his boss, and I kept on pushing and pushing until he snapped.

Granted, I may have had a good reason for getting on his case; it was my best friend Caroline Forbes' birthday party that night and he hadn't yet made any commitment to confirm his attendance. I had been reminding him constantly for a month or so before, but he seemed to conveniently forget or changed the subject. I suppose it was due to the fact that they didn't get along that well…okay, Care may have hated him from the start, but he _was_ my boyfriend, and we even lived together, so as my best friend, she had to at least tolerate him, right?

While, _she_ did, Mason made no such effort. Caroline had been calling throughout the day, wanting to know if we could make it in time for the party thrown by her boyfriend, Tyler Lockwood, who just so happened to be Mason's nephew. So I waited, not too patiently for him to get home from work, only to find him scowling at me as soon as he walked through the door.

"Hey, babe," I greeted when he sank down onto the couch next to me. "Hurry up and get ready. It's almost time to go," I reminded yet again as I pulled my three-month old boots on. They were a gift from Mason after our previous fight that ended up with me having a doorknob shaped bruise on my back.

"Go where?" Mason asked sulkily, leaning back with his eyes closed against the backrest, oblivious to my gaping mouth as I stared at him in disbelief. I couldn't believe that he forgot again!

I released an exasperated sigh, crossing my arms as I told him, "To Caroline's birthday party. The one I've been reminding you about for a month."

"Was that tonight?" he asked, his eyes still closed, not even moving an inch from his previous position.

I had to admit; that question of his frustrated the hell out of me. "Yes, Mason! It's tonight and we're going to be late if you don't get up and get ready now. I don't want to be late."

"I don't feel like it. So, guess that settles it," he said curtly, not even bothering to look at me.

"Mason, come on! Stop wasting time! We have to leave in like ten minutes. Come on," I pulled at his arm playfully, hoping that it would be successful in getting him off his butt, but my efforts were in vain when he roughly pulled it away, throwing me an angry glare. Well, the good news was that his eyes were finally open. The bad news was they didn't look too happy with me.

"Just leave me the fuck alone, dammit!" he snapped suddenly, the tension in his face evidently displayed. "God, if I knew you were going to be such a nagging bitch, I'd have gone to the bar with the guys!"

That shut me up pretty quickly. Firstly, I did not 'nag', and secondly, if he was okay with drinking in a bar, he could have gone to Caroline's party at the Grille which _had_ a bar! Also, he called me a bitch!

"That was uncalled for, Mason," I said quietly, feeling hurt at being the recipient of the foul mood he was in for whatever reason. "I'm just asking you to be supportive and make an appearance at my best friend's birthday party. There's a bar there, and you can ask your friends to meet you there if you want to," I compromised instead of getting into a fight with him when we were already running late.

"Just give it a rest, will you? I'm tired and I just had a fucking hell of a day at work, and the last thing I need right now is the idea of spending the next few hours with your blonde bimbo of a friend who should have her lips stapled shut! I also don't appreciate your condescending tone; as if I needed your permission to spend time with my friends!" With that, Mason lurched up from the couch to stalk into the kitchen, pulling the door of the fridge open so hard that the door swung open to crash onto the wall beside it.

I watched helplessly while he removed several cans of beer from the fridge, and then with the other hand, slammed the door shut, hard enough that I could hear bottles and jars rattling within. He kept an eye on me as he walked back towards me, still frozen on the couch, while he took a long swig of beer right from the can.

"What, so you're just gonna sit there, judging me the entire night for not attending a little party?" he asked when I didn't respond to his reprimand.

I decided to declare peace, not wanting to rile him up further with a defensive statement that was at the forefront of my mind. "Look, why don't you stay home and relax and we'll talk about your day when I get back later?" I suggested with a small smile, hoping that this would be the end of the one-sided fight. Suddenly, the memory of his last violent outbursts came to mind, the force of my spine being slammed against the door knob echoing in my head.

"You're _still_ going?" he burst out in disbelief, the half-empty beer can stilled in his hand.

I nodded, standing up to grab my purse before he could stop me. "Well, yeah. I mean, you don't want to, so I'll just drive there alone and-"

I was unable to finish my sentence, because the next thing I knew, I was being shoved into the console table where I left my purse from behind, my chest connecting painfully with the sharp edge of the surface where I landed, sending me sprawling in a heap on the floor, the breath knocked out of me as my purse and its contents spilled around my prone body. I was numb with shock for a moment, my mind incapable of processing anything beyond the fact that the pain was excruciating.

"You're such a selfish bitch sometimes, Elena! I needed comfort and a sympathetic ear tonight and all you can talk about is some fucking party and had the cheek to use _my_ car without even bothering to ask for permission, I might add!" Mason raged down at me, his face red with fury. "I let you live in _my_ house because you had nowhere else to go, and paid for every God-damn thing because you're flat-out broke and now you expect to run off to a party in _my_ car, without the decency to even consider my feelings, you ungrateful brat!"

_This_ time, I saw it coming. I saw it but I was still powerless to stop it. It was as if I was having an out-of-body experience, watching as he picked me up bodily from the floor, his palm connecting with my cheek and the force of it sent me back down to the floor. It seemed as if it should hurt more, the way he had applied his full body strength behind the attack, but it didn't. I didn't feel a thing. I must have been in shock, and oddly enough, I was grateful for it.

"That's right! You stay quiet down there and think about what you've done. You've said enough earlier!" he continued and spat on me, his anger gaining momentum as he yelled at me. "Fuck this, you're not even _worth_ my time," he muttered, walking away from me, and then I heard his footsteps retreating further away, followed by the sound of the front door slamming shut.

I laid there on the floor, faced downwards, my palms flat on the coarse carpet, listening intently for the sound of him returning. The sound of the familiar roar of his engine registered in my brain, and then I heard his tires squealing and then he sped away, bringing peace into the night again.

I didn't know how long time had passed as I laid there, frozen, trying to breathe without worsening the sharp pain in my chest. It could have been mere minutes, or even hours; I lost all track of time until I was brought back into the present when the chorus of 'Call Me Maybe' rang out from my phone. I contemplated ignoring it, but it _could_ be Caroline, wondering where I was and the last thing I needed was for her to be worried enough to drag Tyler all the way to the house to check on me.

I lifted my heavy head slowly from the floor, ignoring the now stinging pain on my left cheek and searched for my fallen phone, which luckily had landed within two feet from me when it spilled out from my purse earlier from the impact. Sure enough, it _was_ Caroline, and I cleared my throat before answering, hoping that my wheezing was not evident through the phone.

"H-hello?" I managed to croak out, the vibrations of my voice sending shooting pain through my chest.

I could make out that the party was in full swing, judging from the loud noises in the background before her voice came through the speaker, raised loud enough to be heard over the racket at the Grille. "Elena? Where are you? Are you on the way with Mr. Surfer dude?" her anxious voice asked with a sarcastic undertone.

"I'm sorry, Care, but we can't make it. I-I'm sick," I replied in a soft murmur, curling into a ball right there on the carpet from the intense pain. Knowing my best friend, she wouldn't let it go just like that; no, she had to make some wise crack at Mason's expense and dig further. I hated her at that moment.

"Sick of Mason?" Caroline teased in a hopeful tone of voice. "Well it's _about_ time, Elena! You should've known that your crazy infatuation with Mr. I-Have-Pecs-and-Abs-That-Could-Rival-The-Cast-of-Jersey-Shore would have ended _sometime_! It only took you like, what….twenty seven months before you finally realized that the only brain he has is in his pants, but it was bound to happen sooner or later. Come out and celebrate!"

At any other occasion, I would have made a witty retort, but seeing as I had trouble breathing, I had no choice but to keep the chit-chat to an absolute minimum. "I-I'm heading to bed. Happy…birthday, Care," I gasped out and without waiting for a reply, I disconnected the call and turned the phone off, hoping that she would get the hint that I didn't want to be disturbed if she happened to call back after that rather abrupt ending.

I pressed my hands against the throbbing in my chest, certain that it was, at the very least, black and blue at the moment. My cheek felt warm and swollen, too, and I realized that the shock was wearing off, meaning that the pain would considerably worsen pretty soon. I experienced a wave of nausea and a dizzy spell, probably from the lack of breath, and I was barely able to thank God for a brief reprieve as I started to lose consciousness.

It was a welcomed change. It meant that I could no longer feel any pain, whether physically or emotionally. The last image that I saw before my eyes closed was the one where Mason's eyes….. scared the crap out of me.

* * * ABUSE IS FOR COWARDS * * *

The house was dark when I regained consciousness, just briefly but enough to feel myself being lifted up by a pair of strong arms, the very ones that caused the unbearable amount of pain coursing in my chest and face at that moment. I was being carried through the house, and then my body was set down onto a soft surface; the bed. The next thing I knew, I was covered under a blanket, and then a warm body pressed itself against me, gathering me close against a hard chest.

Belatedly, I realized that there was a soft murmur near to my ear, followed by a pair of soft lips pressing against the back of my head, almost lovingly. But I knew what those lips were also capable of; harsh, hurtful words, designed to cause as much pain as possible, as if it were a knife being plunged into my heart.

Before my mind and body shut down to protect itself again, I could have sworn that I heard the words, "I'm sorry, babe. I'm so sorry. I love you."

It was the same song, same lyrics, but a different tune.

* * * ABUSE IS FOR COWARDS * * *

When I woke up again, it was light outside the windows. The early sun was streaming in, the curtains billowing from the light breeze that swept over me. It was like every other morning…except it wasn't.

For one thing, I felt as if I had Thor's hammer on my chest, my body breaking out in sweat and my heart was racing. For another, Mason was gazing down at me with an expression of concern, his hands holding mine as he sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Thank God you're awake! I was worried sick!" he declared, his eyes perusing the length of my body, lingering on the cheek that felt tender and swollen. Lying there on the bed beside him, I really had no idea how to react to this man who seemed like his normal, doting self when I knew perfectly well what he was capable of. Looking up at him then, signs of distress and worry on his face, I couldn't quite convince myself that the man in front of me was the same cruel, angry and violent man from the previous night.

Was it some kind of split personality disorder that popped up out of nowhere, or did he have aggressive tendencies all along, a part that he had kept hidden from me for so long? I had known Mason for almost three years; first, as friends, and then as my boyfriend, so why did this abusive nature just suddenly make itself known _now_? Was it something that I did wrong? Did I drive him to this?

Maybe I _had_ taken him for granted, because he _was_ right; we started living together when I could no longer afford rent for my parents' apartment ever since they died in a car accident right after I started college. They didn't even have medical or life insurance, so I started living on whatever savings they had left, until the money just wasn't there anymore. I was nineteen years old, broke, with no family.

Mason was the only cloud with a silver lining for me then. I would have been lost without him, to be perfectly honest. He was sweet, kind, caring and funny; all the things that a girl wanted in a man.

He came into my life at a time when I desperately needed someone to rely on. He saved me. He gave me a roof over my head and even paid the remaining of my college tuition fees. To do all that, well, he must have loved me, right? Why else would he do that, take care of me and provide for me if he didn't care about me? I owed him _so_ much that I couldn't even _begin_ to pay my dues.

Perhaps he had some stress at work that he didn't want to burden me with. That would explain his short fuse lately. Perhaps I should've been more understanding, more patient and more attentive to his moods, so that he didn't bottle everything up inside that must have caused the episode last night. We had to work things out, somehow, someway; I had to find a way to fix him, to fix us, so that we could go back to how we were. I owed him that much.

"Elena, please talk to me, babe," Mason pleaded, his fingers cupping my tender cheek, making me wince as I hastily turned my face away to avoid contact, and the effort it took to make that slight adjustment made me almost want to scream out in pain. But I _couldn't_ scream, because it would take too much effort and energy.

"Does it still hurt? God, I didn't know my own strength, you know, I just…I swear to you, Elena, I didn't mean to go off on you like I did. I'm so sorry, babe," he breathed out in anguish as he climbed onto the bed beside me and gathered me in his arms, holding me, comforting me from the horrors that he himself evoked. His touch worsened the pain; it made me wish that I was dead. Tears squeezed out of my closed eyes.

In an instant, his arms tightened around me, as if he could absorb my pain into his own body. "I know I hurt you, babe, I know. I don't know what happened, it was like I lost control and became a whole other person. I was so angry, but I didn't know why. I'm sorry. I promise that I will never do that to you _ever_ again. _Never_," he whispered against my ear, his lips peppering soft kisses on my shoulder and neck, the way he usually did whenever we woke up together during weekends. I wanted to beg that he stopped touching me, but I couldn't speak or even move. I felt weaker with every second that passed.

And then the doorbell rang, causing Mason to stiffen beside me. It rang again, and then we both heard four persistent raps against the timber veneer of the front door.

Caroline.

Had to be her. Only _she_ could have made her knockings sounded impatient.

"Dammit," Mason cursed softly, his eyes now worried as they studied my pale face, a sharp contrast to the redness of the left cheek. "Babe, please don't say anything, okay? I don't want outsiders to know about our fight. I'll send Caroline away," he said anxiously and then he hurried downstairs.

By then, I was already drifting in and out of consciousness, vaguely registering two sets of voices that sounded like they were bickering endlessly, and then they seemed closer and louder. The next thing I knew, I heard my best friend's voice right beside me, the shrillness of her tone betraying the panic she felt.

"Oh my God! What happened?" Caroline announced as she ran her fingers over my forehead and then my cheek. I must have drifted off again because when I came to, Mason was arguing with her.

"….she just needs to rest, that's all! Why can't you just leave it well enough alone?" he argued in frustration.

I heard Caroline's footsteps moving towards where his voice came from and I struggled to open my eyes, but they were too heavy. It was also increasingly hard to even breathe. It felt as if I was being held underwater and drowned.

"Listen, asshole! You can either take Elena to the hospital right now, or I'm calling an ambulance! _Look_ at her, Mason! She's turning blue! I don't think she can even breathe….."

Darkness overtook me again, and this time, I didn't want to wake up anymore. Ever.

* * *

"…..blunt force trauma…rib fracture caused…..small puncture to her lung…..causing her lung to collapse…slow bleed….eventually accumulated enough to drown her in her own bodily fluids…respiratory problem…..lack of oxygen sent her into shock….explains the cyanosis…."

A female voice I didn't recognize broke through my hazy thoughts as I woke up yet again. I didn't understand a word of what was said, having only caught bits and pieces of the conversation, but I began to realize that I was in a hospital, thanks to the sound of a beeping machine next to me. My first thought was, 'Shit! Why aren't I dead?'

"Despite what he said, I don't think it was an accident and there was no way in hell that the trauma to her chest was caused by a fall! She was turning blue by the time I got there, and that asshole didn't even want me to bring her to the hospital! In fact, he tried to send me away! If that doesn't indicate that he's responsible for what happened to Elena, then I don't know what does," another voice I knew belonged to Caroline said, sounding upset and worried. I knew her so well, that I could always tell what she was feeling just by her tone of voice alone. Right now, she was terribly anxious, with a healthy dose of anger directed at my boyfriend, whom I assumed was not in the room with us.

"It all certainly seems suspicious, and that's why Mer brought me in on the case," someone else replied; a male, this time. "So, can we know for sure that Lockwood did this to her? Or did the injuries come from a bad fall like he said? "

That male voice sounded like it belonged to a young guy, although not one that I was familiar with. It certainly wasn't Tyler, I knew that, but he seemed to be someone who was important enough to be in the room with Caroline and the female since they were talking about my medical condition. Wasn't there such a thing as doctor-patient confidentiality agreement?

"We can't really know for sure from the chest injury, but judging from the handprint on her cheek, I'd say with a hundred percent certainty that she did _not_ fall onto a palm with that kind of force," the other lady said with complete certainty. Her statement left me wondering what sort of state I was in; was I disfigured? Did I have a Mason-shaped hand print on the side of my face where he slapped me? Did I still have a face? My worry and alarm escalated at the thought.

"I'm going to go ahead and make a judgment call on this one; he abused her, plain and simple. Ms. Forbes," the male voice addressed my best friend, and I could hear the sound of shuffling feet from a distance. "You told me that Ms. Gilbert and Lockwood were supposed to show up at your party last night, and the last time that you spoke to her before the event, was at five thirty evening?" He paused, and I assumed that Care nodded in the affirmative since he went on after that.

"She sounded perfectly fine then, and then when she didn't show up, you called her again later at night, and she sounded raspy, right? As if she couldn't breathe properly." Another pause and then a scoff. "I think it's safe to assume that whatever happened to Ms. Gilbert happened between your phone conversations, and if she had indeed fallen and hurt herself, wouldn't she have told you about it when you spoke to her the second time?"

"I think you're right, Damon," the unidentified female voice said with a sigh. I would assume that she was a doctor or a nurse in the hospital since she was spewing a bunch of medical terms earlier when I just woke up. Was she the 'Mer' person this Damon guy was referring to?

I heard more shuffling, and then, "Maybe I need to have _another_ chat with Lockwood, and try to poke holes in his earlier statement . If I find anything even remotely suspicious with his story, I can haul him before a judge faster than he can raise his fucking hands against a woman again. This kind of useless filth does not deserve to breathe another breath of fresh air!"

Did the male voice belong to a _cop_? I panicked a little at the thought of Mason being in trouble with the police. Granted, he may have lost his temper and control with me, but I didn't want to send my own boyfriend behind bars! Besides, he promised that he would never do that again to me, and I wasn't saying that I believed him, but _we_ needed to work it out ourselves, not the cops!

I decided that it was time to say something, if only I could move or speak. I had something covering my mouth; an oxygen mask, maybe? I tried to pry my eyes open, but they still felt heavy, as if they were stuck together with glue. Belatedly, I also felt something that protruded from the side of my chest, taped securely in place. My hand twitched a little, earning me a small victory cheer in my head for the slight movement, and then I focused all my strength to inch my fingers towards the offensive item.

The increased beeping sound of the machine beside me must have brought my awareness to the attention of Caroline and the others, because I heard some footsteps hurrying towards me, and then a warm hand covered mine, inhibiting my progress to remove the damn unidentified item. It was uncomfortable and the fact that I didn't know what it was positively drove me nuts. I noticed a slight tingle on the skin where it was touched, as if I was being zapped with electricity, the way one would with a shopping cart or a car door.

"Oh no, you don't, Ms. Gilbert. No touchy," a voice reprimanded gently. To my surprise, it was the male voice, instead of the female one that I expected. Up close, I could smell his spicy aftershave and hear the velvety smoothness of his voice. He sounded heavenly; I didn't know what other way to describe it.

On the other side of the bed, I felt someone approach the bed, and then something tickled my face; someone's hair, I thought. "You should listen to Damon, Elena. He's a total hottie, and he has the most amazing eyes. You two would make beautiful babies together," the ever-familiar voice whispered in my ear, followed by a soft peck on my cheek.

Hello, bleak world. Have you met my best friend, the most optimistic person I had ever known, even if she had the world's worst comedic timing ever?

Despite the severity of the situation that brought me to the hospital, I had to choke back a laugh at the inappropriateness of Caroline, resulting in me making a strange noise of distress in my throat from swallowing back an ill-timed giggle. Surprisingly, I didn't feel any pain from my efforts to remain still. The doctor must have prescribed me some pretty impressive painkillers.

"Hey, hey, Ms. Gilbert….Elena. You'll be safe right here. I'll be watching over you while you get well and recover. I'll make sure that nobody lays a hand on you again. You have my word, and Damon Salvatore's words are _never_ broken," his soft voice said in my other ear, and when he spoke, it was as if there was surround sound in my head, so clear was his whispered promise to me.

Somehow, this stranger's words comforted me, and managed to calm me down; successfully distracting me from the annoying foreign item I was anxious to remove. I could feel my heart rate slowing down, indicated by the beeping machine, and I noted with interest that he had kept his hand on mine, all the while.

Somehow, someway, the gentle skin contact reassured me, making me feel protected and safe. With that comforting thought, I drifted off again.

* * *

**This will be a short story, maybe about 10 chapters, give or take. It is a message that I'm sending out, that you're only a victim if you allow yourself to be. I chose the title A Woman's Worth because in such situations, women really does feel worthless at times, further amplified by their supposed loved ones who reinforce this belief.**

**Yes, this is a DE story, but not only that; the core of the story is a woman who finds strength in herself to put a stop to an abusive relationship. It's also a lesson in love, about how it's better to walk away from SOME form of love that hurts you instead of protecting you.**

**Read and review, because then I know that I'm heard. Thank you!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi everyone. Thanks again for all your story alerts and reviews. Although I'm bad at math, 28 reviews when I had 36 favs and 79 alerts after Chapter 1 doesn't seem exactly right to me. Why are y'all breaking my heart, yo?**

**You guys should know that the REAL villain, the monster who abused and eventually led to the death of Kate Southward (Angela's cousin), is now charged with 2****nd**** degree murder. Can you guys imagine; her boyfriend of 5 years, a man she had been in love with, is responsible for her death? Let it be known that for every second that guy is still breathing, the pain and suffering experienced by her friends and family is still going on. There is not enough justice in the world. **

**Thanks again to Angela for her support to write this story, and to Kristi, my kick-ass beta, for her endless talents in making me seem less useless and more articulate. Oh, she is also a great sounding board, too. Is your head big enough, yet Kris? *grins***

**Also a shout out to Carol, a real life nurse and my medical advisor for this story. Thank you so much, doll!**

* * *

**A Woman's Worth: Chapter Two**

**_Damon's POV_**

As I took a seat in the chair next to Blondie, or Caroline Forbes as Meredith had introduced us earlier, I found myself staring at the still figure on the hospital bed. It had been eight hours since we both comforted her enough that she fell back to sleep, her fingers finally stilling from her pathetic attempts at removing the chest tube from her side.

_Elena._

That was her name. It suited her perfectly, as did her lengthy brown hair and long sooty lashes complimenting her tanned skin. Even asleep and injured, she was breathtaking. Don't get me wrong, the blonde who was curled up on the seat beside me was extremely attractive, but _she_ wasn't my type. I tend to prefer women who have more vivid colorings, darker looks and petite, someone who appealed to my protective side, like Elena did. I wondered about the color of her eyes.

I hadn't even spoken to her, not when she was conscious anyway, and I didn't know anything about her, and yet oddly, I found myself feeling anxious over _her_, a complete stranger. I assumed it was because she was so young, barely in her twenties, and from what her blonde friend told me, she was completely alone; no parents, not even a distant relative. She had no one, except for that jerk of a boyfriend.

I thought back to the phone call I had received early this morning while I was still in bed. I remembered dragging my eyes open to glare at the ringing device on my night stand, and for a fleeting moment, considered not answering it. Early morning or late night phone calls were never good news. But I knew that I had to. That specific ring tone was reserved for Meredith; Dr. Meredith Fell to be specific. She never called unless it was an important case, or when she needed my help with Alaric, my brother from another mother.

* * * _ten hours ago_ * * *

"Mer?" I mumbled sleepily, yawning loudly into the phone just to demonstrate how early it was. She'd better not make these early morning wake-up calls a habit, unless it was _really_ important…like end-of-the-world kind of importance.

"Damon, I'm sorry for waking you up, but I-I think I have a case for you," the soft voice on the other end of the line said. I registered the hesitancy in her voice despite my hazy brain, and it sent me into a bit of a panic mode.

"Wait, you're _not_ sure?" I asked, already getting out of bed and heading to my bathroom to start the shower, then grabbed my toothbrush.

"My patient had a fractured rib and it punctured her lung. She was barely breathing when she was brought in. The boyfriend said that she fell at home last night and didn't think it was that serious. Damon," Mer paused, clearly worried about this woman who so far sounded like a victim of an accident at home, not of abuse. "She had a huge bruise on her left cheek and it was so swollen that it affected her eye. There was a handprint, too. I think she was slapped and pushed until she fell on something that caused her rib to fracture. She could have died, Damon!"

I stiffened in the midst of brushing my teeth when she started describing the woman's injuries, the gravity of the situation brought a heavy feeling in my chest. I tend to get a gut feeling whenever I received these kinds of calls; whether it was from years of experience in this field, or just pure instinct – I was almost always right about the outcome of my cases. And I had a _bad_ feeling with this one.

"How old is she?" I asked through a mouthful of froth from the toothpaste.

"She just turned twenty one."

I spit out the rest of the foam in my mouth abruptly and rinsed it before snarling into the phone, "I'm on my way."

Screw the shower; I had a damsel in distress to save.

* * * _At the Hospital_ * * *

Upon reaching Mystic Falls General, I immediately made my way towards Mer's office. I had been in this hospital too many times to count and I basically knew every inch of it. I could've found my way around blindfolded. But this time, I didn't even need to search that far before I spotted her along a hallway, talking to two people; a man and a woman. I quickly made my approach.

"Damon!" Mer called out as soon as she saw me, looking relieved at my presence. I nodded at the couple next to her, noting the worried look on the blonde woman and the anxious look on the guy, his light brown hair in a mess of curls, as if he had run his fingers through it repeatedly. "Damon, this is Mason Lockwood, and Caroline Forbes. They were the ones who brought in the young lady I told you about earlier."

I reached out my hand to shake theirs, all the while noticing Mer's eyes shifting to the guy discreetly, hinting to his identity; the suspected perpetrator. Automatically, my fingers tightened on his as we shook hands, and I felt some satisfaction when his eyes widened at the painfully firm grip. "I'm Damon Salvatore, a director at DVN."

"What's DVN?" Lockwood asked warily, his gaze narrowing on me suspiciously. He _should_ be suspicious. I was about to bring down a rain of fire on his ass as soon as I had proof against him.

"DVN stands for Domestic Violence Network. We investigate cases of suspected abuse," I explained slowly, my eyes locked on Lockwood's to gauge his response. Not surprisingly, he paled a little at that, his attention turning everywhere else but at me. Coward!

"Abuse?" the coward repeated nervously. "Why would you suspect that it was abuse? My girlfriend had a bad fall and hit her chest on the edge of a table. It was an accident. We didn't know that her injuries were so serious, or I would've admitted her last night after I arrived home."

I studied him thoughtfully as I asked my next question. "So, your statement is that you were not with her when she fell, is that it? You didn't actually witness her fall?"

"Wait, what 'statement'? Am I an actual _suspect_ in this incident? You can't be serious about this!" Lockwood stated incredulously, his expression one of disbelief. Yes, I expected that he would deny it all the way. I could also tell that he was panicking at the thought of getting his ass hauled to jail.

I nodded with deliberate slowness, dragging out the torture of uncertainty in his plight. "I'm as serious as a heart attack, Mr. Lockwood. I don't take my cases lightly, and I am usually successful in hauling the guilty parties to jail for a long time." I stepped closer to the guy, invading his personal space as I injected as much warning into my voice as I possibly could. "I am _very_ good at my job, Mr. Lockwood. You'd do well to remember that."

I watched with enormous pleasure as he stepped back from me, his attention shifting to the blonde and Mer who were standing beside us quietly, observing our exchange. "Look, it was an accident and if I'm not required to be here, I have to go to work. Caroline, can you please tell Elena that I'll come by tonight?" Without waiting for a response from the blonde woman, he flashed one last look at me, and then hurried away towards the exit, leaving me with the two ladies.

"Well, I hope you're _excellent_ at your job, Mr. Salvatore, because I want to _personally_ haul him off to jail by his nose…with fish hooks…on a bed of sharp and pointy nails!" Ms. Forbes said. I found myself taking a liking to the blonde immediately at her passionate statement, her forehead creasing as she glared after the coward. I guessed I wasn't the only one who wanted to see the bully get his appropriate comeuppance.

"Just Damon, please," I offered to her before turning to Meredith. "Mer, can I see her?" I asked the good doctor, grateful that she made the right call to call me in. She nodded and gestured for us to follow her down the corridor and then we turned right into a room where a young lady laid motionless on the hospital bed.

I wanted to bury my head in my hands and cry when I first laid eyes on her. She was so young, so innocent, and she didn't deserve to be in this situation. No one did, but it was heartbreaking that someone who seemed so pure had to go through what _she_ did. I felt helpless as I stood there near the bed, wondering what the future would bring to this girl who still had her whole life ahead of her.

If my suspicions were correct, her entire future rested upon my ability to help her, to protect her from the heartless bastard who did this to her and from the future horrors to come if she didn't leave him. For a victim like her, her decision to stay or walk away from a violent relationship was practically an end-of-the-world kind of choice. People who stayed rarely survived beyond a couple of years; I've seen it too many times to believe otherwise.

"Ms. Forbes, why don't you tell me what happened?" I asked, keeping my eyes on the unconscious figure as I clenched my jaw.

"Please, call me Caroline, or Care. My friends call me Care Bear," she said with a grin, oblivious to how inappropriate it was to share that piece of information. Besides, I already had my own nickname for her. "Well, it all started with my birthday party yesterday…." Blondie started saying, and I listened for the next half an hour, my patience wearing thin as she droned on and on about the party her boyfriend threw for her at Mystic Grille and how happening it was up to the point where she called her best friend when she failed to show up with her boyfriend.

Blondie sure talked an awful lot, but said little in terms of substance. I was only interested in the last five minutes of her tale, when she described what she found when she arrived at Lockwood's house that morning. I shuddered to think of the alternative had she not been such a great friend and worried enough to drop by the house without warning. I was also grateful to her for standing up to Lockwood when he tried to turn her away, insisting that his girlfriend was fine.

Yes, Blondie had undoubtedly saved her best friend's life and for that, I would put up with her incessant chatter and wildly animated hand gestures.

* * *

Despite my distracting recollection of the morning's activities, starting with being rudely awakened by Meredith's call and ending with meeting my latest 'case' for the first time, I had my unwavering gaze fixed on Elena, so it was no surprise that I didn't miss the twitch of her fingers, signaling her journey towards consciousness for the second time around. I nudged the dozing blonde beside me and hurried over to the bedside, my fingers automatically curling around Elena's as a comforting gesture.

"Caroline, will you please ask the nurse to contact Dr. Fell?" I asked without turning my head at the blonde who was just jostled awake from her seat, and in an instant, I heard the sound of her heels making their way out of the room. I was glad to be given a moment alone with my 'case' or charge, as I like to refer to them. I had to establish a trusting relationship from the get-go, otherwise, she wouldn't be too willing to accept my help. After all, victims were ironically distrustful of anyone except for their abusive partners, and I was merely a stranger who came into their lives at this vulnerable time.

"Elena, I'm Damon, remember me?" I told her softly, hearing the beeping of the heart monitor increasing slightly. She was anxious and I knew that I had to calm her down. "Caroline's here but she just stepped out to get your doctor. I know you're scared and probably confused, but I'm here to help you. You're in Mystic Falls General. You were brought in this morning by Caroline and Mason Lockwood due to some injuries that led to your difficulty in breathing. I was here this morning the first time you were awake, remember?"

At first, all I heard was the persistent beeping sounds, and then they slowed down considerably when her fingers squeezed mine in response to my question. It felt as if a jolt went through my system and all I could do was to just stare at her in amazement, unexpectedly humbled by how soon she had accepted her circumstances and had begun to trust me, a stranger in her room. With the strength of her fingers, she could have flung mine off of hers or showed me the middle one as an indication to mind my own business, but no, she was telling me that she knew who I was and that she was okay with my being there.

_Oh, Elena. _

But then Blondie came back and spoiled the moment. She was right beside me before I could even say 'Care Bear'. "Dr. Fell will be here soon, Damon. How is she? Is she awake? Did she open her eyes? Why are you holding hands?" And then a gasp, "Are you _attracted_ to her? She's a really great girl! I know she might be pale and splotchy at this moment, but wait till you see her all dolled up and, you know, awake and everything….."

Okay, this girl _seriously_ needed a muzzle….or a tranquilizer. But then again, I could kiss her because just then, Elena pried her right eye open, just briefly, but it was enough for me to glimpse into the warm brownness and note the slight frustration there. I didn't take it personally because deep down, I knew that it wasn't aimed at me, but rather the chatterbox beside me. Also, brown was my favorite color. Actually, _black_ was my favorite color, but one might argue that black wasn't really a color, so then that made brown at the top of the list. It was funny, because ten seconds ago, it was gray, but suddenly, I found gray to be rather drab, especially compared to this particular shade of brown. There was something so natural about it.

Luckily, the entrance of Meredith and the nurse snapped me out of my musings about colors, and also interrupted Blondie's insistent reasoning as for why I should be dating her best friend. "Damon, you're _still_ here?" the lovely brunette asked with a surprised expression when she saw me.

I had to admit that I was a little insulted by that question. She should know by now that I would do anything to protect my charge, even if it meant losing sleep and a lack of showering. Mostly, she should have realized that I wasn't going to leave Elena alone when the coward who put her in the hospital in the first place was coming back to visit after work.

Over my dead body, or preferably _his_.

"Yeah, what can I say? I love the food here," I said instead, knowing full well that the patient could hear me. I reckoned that she wouldn't appreciate to know that I was considering ways to dump her abusive boyfriend's body after I was done going all Texas Chainsaw Massacre on him. _Of course_ I was joking….for the most part.

Meredith flashed me a knowing smile at my sarcastic comment and then turned her full attention to our mutual charge. "Elena? I'm Dr. Fell, your attending physician. Can you hear me? If you can, could you please open your eyes for me?" All three of us waited with bated breath for the motionless brunette to react to Meredith, and then her eyes opened, one bigger than the other. I felt so proud of her!

"That's good, Elena. That's really good. Now, I'm going to explain what happened to you, okay? Don't try to speak because you have been intubated to get your oxygen level on track, but just blink if you understand, all right?" Meredith asked in a kind voice before checking the pulse oximeter for her oxygen saturation level. She really was a pretty great doctor.

But then her words had the opposite effect when it caused Elena to realize that she had an endotracheal tube lodged in her throat, and then she started coughing and gagging from the discomfort, quickly becoming agitated as she moved around the bed vigorously. I moved to hold her down before she could hurt herself or pulled at her chest tube with her writhing, but Meredith swatted me away.

"I've got this, Damon. You two, go wait outside while I start the extubation process," she instructed, already getting into position with the nurse opposite her holding Elena down. I hastily ushered Blondie out of the room and waited anxiously as we watched the entire process happening in the room. I could practically _feel_ the distress Elena was in the entire time and it was all I could do to resist marching back into the room to hold her, to tell her that it would all be over soon.

Twenty minutes later, after monitoring her post-extubation period to make sure that she was able to breathe on her own without any further complication, Meredith gestured for us to reenter the room. Blondie and I quickly took our previous positions, me holding Elena's hand while she was being hugged by her best friend.

"Oh my God, 'Lena, you scared me! You're so brave, you're so brave!" Blondie kept muttering while she covered Elena's face with light pecks. She looked somewhat better now that she no longer had the invasive tube in her mouth, only a nasal cannula that provided supplemental oxygen through her nose.

"Ms. Forbes, why don't you give Elena some room to settle down?" Meredith suggested just as I was about to. I released a deep breath I didn't even realize I was holding when Blondie walked over to stand next to me, peering over my shoulder at her friend. "Elena, I know that you're still feeling some discomfort around your throat area, but that's normal. It should fade in a couple of days. In the mean time, try not to talk until you're feeling better. The nurse will come in every fifteen minutes to monitor your breathing for the first hour, and then every hour after that, okay?"

Blink.

Meredith went on to explain in layman's terms what happened when she was brought into the hospital in the morning, and the procedures that were carried out to treat her injuries, including the dreaded chest tube. Seriously, they were nasty; no wonder her first instinct this morning was to reach out to remove it.

As if Meredith could read my mind, which I sometimes think she totally could, she said, "Now, I know that you're probably uncomfortable with the chest tube, but it's crucial that you're able to breathe properly and it also drains out the fluids in your lung. It's stitched into place to prevent it from slipping out so I don't want you to pull it or move around too much. Now, the tube will remain in place until all or most of the fluid is drained out, and this usually takes a few days which means that you'll have to remain in the hospital for a week to ten days, do you understand?"

I heard Elena's heartbeat spiked at that information before she closed her eyes with a frown and shook her head slightly, obviously not liking what she was hearing. I wanted to comfort her, to reassure her but I didn't know how, so I squeezed her fingers a little harder. Her eyes flew open at the pressure, tear-filled and worried as they met mine, and I gave her a small smile, hoping that it would provide some relief.

"Hi there, we haven't officially met yet, although I've introduced myself to you a couple of times already," I told her, my tone somewhat lighthearted. "I'm Dr. Fell's friend, Damon. Do you remember me from earlier?"

Blink, and then two teardrops rolled down the corners of her eyes, officially making me weak-kneed and at her mercy. I hated it when women cry. It made my insides turn to mush and rendered me useless. All I wanted to do was to cheer her up, but I didn't think that a dirty joke would be appropriate at that point.

"Oh hell, if hearing my first name already made you cry, I don't think I want to see your reaction to my last name!" I joked as I wiped away her tears before they could stain her pillow. "I feel quite insulted that my first impression sucked because I usually get a more giggly response when I introduce myself. Personally, I think it's the hospital lighting; it makes my complexion sallow, don't you think? But _you_, on the other hand, look amazing in that white hospital garment thingy. Are you a model by any chance?"

My efforts were rewarded with the lifting of the corners of her lips, drawing my attention to her mouth, where I got a little distracted by the shape of her perfectly molded lips. She had thin arched upper lip and a full bottom one, which made for a very romantic-looking mouth. With some effort, I dragged my gaze back up to her shimmering eyes and tried to distract her from the fact that she was staying put in the hospital and that she would be seeing a lot of me. Much more than her boyfriend, hopefully.

"You're probably wondering why I'm here, aren't you?" I asked as I pursed my lips thoughtfully.

She gave me a slow blink this time, as if she didn't want to hurt my feelings by making me feel unwelcomed. Such a sweetheart.

"Well, think of me as your personal bodyguard, if you will. I'm here to protect you against nagging best friends and rogue furniture. But don't worry; I'm on the house, courtesy of Dr. Fell's enormous heart and my inability to deny the request of attractive brunettes."

"Why, thank you, Damon," Meredith suddenly piped in and I looked up to see her smug smirk aimed at me.

"Crap! You weren't supposed to hear that," I muttered under my breath, but then Elena smiled again, and I forgot that I just paid an accidental compliment to the girlfriend of my best friend.

And then the devil walked in. Literally.

"Hey, what's happening? Is she awake? Did she say anything?" Lockwood asked from the doorway, holding a bouquet of flowers with a frown on his face. Okay, I wasn't clairvoyant, but it wasn't hard to interpret the sudden quickening of the beeping of the machine next to me to know that Elena was distressed at the sight of him. Not wanting to create any problems for the girl, I removed my hand from hers and stepped away from the bed, and I saw Blondie do the same from my peripheral vision.

Lockwood entered further into the room and approached the bed, his gaze falling on my charge worriedly as he placed the bouquet on the table next to her. "Hey, babe. How are you feeling? I've been so worried," he said softly and leaned in to press a kiss on her forehead.

He played the part of the concerned, doting boyfriend really well, but I could see right through him. He was probably wondering if Elena had told us anything about her attack.

"I brought you your favorite flowers, babe. Lillies. Aren't they pretty?" he murmured as he lifted up the bouquet in front of her. Great, first he tried to kill her, and when that failed, he brought flowers to finish the job by choking her to death. The bastard.

Elena blinked a few times at him but her heartbeat had returned to normal, at least for now.

"What the hell are you doing here, Mason?" Blondie bit out. I had almost forgotten that she was still there since she hadn't spoken for what seemed like a long time. Like five minutes.

"I'm visiting my girlfriend," he retorted, rolling his eyes at Blondie, and I waited for the explosion that I knew was coming from this fiercely loyal friend. I wasn't disappointed.

"The girlfriend you tried to kill, you mean? The girlfriend you left to _die_ in your bed as she was struggling for breath! The girlfriend who _would_ have died had I not decided to check in with her this morning when she failed to show up at my party last night!" Blondie burst out angrily, her blazing eyes fixed on him. This girl had balls, I'd give her that.

"Care!" a new voice croaked, and all four of us turned our attention to the source of the sound; Elena. She seemed upset, but it wasn't aimed at who I expected; she was frowning at her best friend, her expression annoyed as if Blondie had just committed a major faux pas by standing up for her.

"Okay, enough! Mr. Lockwood, I would like to speak to you privately about Elena's condition. Can we step out into the hallway?" Meredith stepped in before her patient overexerts herself.

"No, I'm not leaving Caroline and _him_ here with my girlfriend! You can tell me anything in front of Elena, and if anybody's going out into the hallway, it'll be _them_," Lockwood gestured at me and my new friend, who was still glaring at him. If looks could kill, well, let's just say that I would be getting a shovel right then.

I wanted to park my ass on the bed next to Elena and yell out "Not a chance!", but then Meredith completely surprised me by agreeing with him. "Alright, fine. Damon, Ms. Forbes, will you please wait outside?" she asked, her brow lifted at me and my shocked expression. It was her way of telling me to back off and do what she said. She had a duty as a doctor to her patient and her closest kin, after all. This was the second time she kicked me out of the room already. She'd better not make a habit out of it! I decided to give in to the pint-sized brunette but I wasn't going to go without a fight.

"Elena?" I turned my attention to the distressed brunette on the bed. "I meant what I said earlier about my role here for you. Do you want me to stay?" I half-expected her to blink again and I was getting ready to take my place beside her, but she managed to surprise me again with a shake of her head, followed by a raspy, "No."

I nodded with disappointment and turned towards the door and then I heard her soft "Thank you" aimed at my back. I turned around and gave her a comforting smile and then I decided to give my parting shot at the bastard next to her.

"I'll be right outside…watching closely. _Very_ closely," I warned him and then I stalked out in a manly manner behind Blondie. As soon as I was out the door, I planted my feet shoulder-width on the floor and crossed my arms as I stared into the room I just left through the glass doors, unable to hear anything being said. I only saw Meredith gesturing with her hands, then Lockwood's head shake and then more gestures from Meredith. They spoke for a few more minutes, then Elena interfered and then Meredith nodded with resignation and left them alone.

"What, you're just going to leave them in there? Alone? Unsupervised?" I asked bitterly as soon as she stepped out of the room. No, I wasn't over-reacting because even Blondie looked appalled at the thought.

"I'm her doctor, not her guardian, Damon! I can't force him to stay away from her just because we suspect that he's the reason why she's in here! Besides, Elena was the one who allowed it. My hands are tied in this, and so are yours," Meredith argued.

I hated that she was right; that was always my problem with my charges. I couldn't help them unless they _wanted_ to be helped. Otherwise, I could only stand by and watch helplessly while they dig themselves a deeper hole. Sometimes, the hole got too big and too deep that I wasn't able to reach them anymore and ended up having to bury them in it. I had to watch them die just because they didn't know how to ask for help. I _really_ hope that it wasn't the case this time.

I turned my gaze back towards the room in time to see Lockwood glaring at me through the glass before he pulled the blinds down, effectively blocking my view into the room.

"What?! Who does he think he is? What, he thinks he can just close the blinds and commit murder with me standing right out here? I don't _think_ so," I sputtered angrily and made my way over to the door, fully intending to keep it wide open so that I could keep an eye on Elena, but Meredith grabbed my arm before I could even touch the doorknob. _What_? She was freakishly strong for a pint-sized person!

"Damon," she warned, her tone completely serious now. "You can't just barge in there like that! You have no right to. I didn't bring you in so that you can terrorize Mason Lockwood like an overprotective papa bear! You were supposed to slowly gain Elena's trust and get her to open up to you, not push her towards him even further! She doesn't know you yet, and if you start acting all overbearing and territorial, she's going to push you away before she even gets to know you!"

She was right, I knew she was, but that didn't lessen my anxiety over the girl I just met. This holding back thing was hard, but I knew that I had to bide my time, despite how exasperating it was.

"You've been here the whole day, so why don't you go home, get some sleep and come back tomorrow morning? _Both_ of you?" she went on, addressing me and Blondie both this time. "I'll get the nurses to keep an eye on them the entire night."

The bastard intended to _stay_ the night?! Over my dead-

"Screw that! I'm the best friend so I have _every_ right to be in that room with her! Besides, I'm _already_ overbearing and territorial, so tough!" With that explosion, Blondie huffed and puffed her way back into the room, flinging the door wide open as she went.

Okay, over Blondie's dead body then! I was perfectly fine with that.

But then I caught a glimpse of the interior of the room as the door swung open; Lockwood was _on_ the bed with my charge, his arms wrapped around her as her head rested on his shoulder. When they heard the sound of Blondie's rather sudden entrance, Elena looked up and her eyes met mine across the span of the room. What I saw in hers made me spin around as I strode right out of the hospital without another backwards glance.

It was guilt.

* * *

I stared morosely at the bronze-colored liquid in front of me, just moping and contemplating the meaning of life when two men plopped down on the seats on either side of me. I knew it! Meredith had called for reinforcements, no doubt after my rather abrupt departure from the hospital.

Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum, here to pull me out of my doldrums.

"Hey, I knew we'd find you here, apparently _not_ drowning your sorrows," Tweedle-Dum said, eyeing my untouched bourbon. For people who were not privy to my obsession with nicknames, Tweedle-Dum was also otherwise known as my best friend Alaric, or Ric as some people liked to call him. Either way, both names sucked so I bestowed him his very own handle.

"Oh, I'd say he's drowning, just in Coke instead of alcohol," the _other_ Tweedle said. By day, he went by Detective Elijah Mikaelson, and by night…he _still_ went by Detective Elijah Mikaelson. Let's just say that he was oblivious to the nickname I gave him and I would rather he remained in the dark. He had a license to carry a gun and I would prefer _not_ to have bullet holes in my favorite John Varvatos apparel.

I released a sigh and drained my glass half-filled with the darker substance and then let out a huge burp that seemed to reverberate across the bar. "Let me guess; Meredith," I said dully, assuming that the three-syllable name explained everything. I was right.

"Yes, she was rather worried when you took off suddenly," the Dum one said after ordering a drink for himself and Elijah. "So, tell me about your new case."

I rolled my eyes at that. As if his girlfriend hadn't filled him in already. Ric was, after all, my boss. He was the ruler of DVN and I was his loyal servant. "You expect me to believe that Mer hasn't spilled the beans already?"

"No, I wouldn't dare to insult your intelligence that way but I still want to hear your account of it," he countered, tipping his head in gratitude when the bartender, Donovan, passed him his order along with Elijah's.

"Yeah, who's the bastard and when can I arrest him?" Elijah piped in with his usual air of authority. I appreciated the fact that I was friends with him, not only as a man of the law but also a man of integrity and honor. I had come across too many cops who were on the take, preferring to coat their pockets with bribery rather than upholding the law. Elijah was one of the few who played strictly by the book and saw things in black and white; no shades of grey in between. It was easy to know where I stood with him – just obey the law and there would be no trouble.

"The bastard goes by the name Mason Lockwood, and as much as I would like to arrest him right now, I can't do a damn thing because his victim is in denial. The guy goes all slappity slap on her cheek like it was a set of bongo drums, and she "accidentally" fell onto the edge of a table, causing her to have a displaced rib fracture, which then punctured her lung and made her turn fifty shades of blue from lack of oxygen, and when all is said and done, he turns up with flowers and an 'I'm-sorry-I-almost-turned-you-into-a-Cookie-Monster' face and she's cuddling next to him on the hospital bed!" A moment of awkward silence followed my angry outburst and I realized that everyone within fifteen feet had heard me. Well, so what?!

"I'm guessing you're not pleased with that?" Ric sighed wearily, not in the least bit shocked with my account of the situation. "I'm surprised that you expected otherwise, Damon. Sadly enough, isn't that what usually happens though? These women, they never learn, do they? It's as if they have a perverse need to fix things. They stay and convince themselves that they deserved to be punished, deserved to be physically and emotionally bullied all because they can't bear to consider the alternative. Why did you even expect her to be any different, buddy?" he asked, his voice tinged with a mix of disappointment and helplessness.

I didn't know how to respond so I ordered a refill of my Coke, still leaving the shot of bourbon untouched. I considered Ric's question, and thought about the things I found out about the brown-eyed girl earlier, courtesy of Blondie who was incredibly eager to divulge her friend's life stories to a complete stranger.

"Maybe because she _is_ different, or maybe because she's a smart girl and should know better. From what I've heard about her, she's a recent orphan, no family, no relatives and no one to depend on. She had to grow up quickly after her parents died in a car accident two years back, balancing finances to keep the home she grew up in, go through college until she ran out of money. So she moved in with her boyfriend, probably because she had no other option at the time, but now that the violence has started, I would expect that she's smart enough to get out before he wipes out the last of the Gilbert line!"

Elijah choked on his drink as I finished my ranting, his eyes wide with surprise. "Gilbert? As in little Elena Gilbert?"

_Little_? Sure, she was very young, but she wasn't little. She was a fully grown woman with all the….ahem…necessary female attributes. Okay, she had a great figure and most importantly, she was legal. I don't know why it was important to point that out, but it was.

"You _know_ her?" I asked, dying of curiosity. If he knew her, then he could protect her, right? Who better to protect her than a member of the police force?

Elijah frowned slightly but nodded. "I was the one in charge of the Gilbert's case, the car accident that claimed her parents' lives two years ago. In fact, I was the one who had to break the news to her then. I remembered feeling sorry for her, having to lose both parents at such a young age and then having no insurance to fall back on. But this….it's just really sad if Elena had to go through this on top of everything else that has happened to her. We _have_ to do something! We have to help her!"

"Well, we can't help someone who doesn't _want_ to be helped. She's twenty-one, an adult. If she refuses to acknowledge that she's better off without Lockwood, then short of kidnapping her, what can I do except watch over her, hoping that someday soon, she'll come to her senses and let me help? Unfortunately for cases like these, there's still such a thing as free will. I can only pray that her decisions won't cause _another_ death on my hands," I sulked, shaking my head at the memory of the last one that drastically changed my life.

Ric stiffened at my statement, his forehead wrinkling into a frown as he turned bodily to face me. "Was that why you were staring at that glass of bourbon when we arrived? Were you thinking about the last time you had a drink?" His voice was incredulous as he regarded my features, my jaws clenched tightly shut and my gaze lowered to resume staring at the still untouched glass.

I didn't order the bourbon for drinking; no, it served a much more important purpose than that. I ordered it as a reminder of what happened the last time I chugged it down as if my life depended on it. How my decision to go on a drinking binge had resulted in the death of someone that I loved.

"How long has it been?" Elijah asked quietly beside me, watching me from the corner of his eye.

How long had it been since I had any alcohol in my system? Ask any recovering alcoholic and they could tell you exactly how long it had been since they last had a taste of the forbidden fruit. "Nine years, two months, and thirteen days. And yet it still feels like it was yesterday," I added in a bitter tone as I took a long gulp of my ice-cold Coke.

"Damon, you can't still beat yourself up for what happened to her. You were sixteen and didn't know better! You were a different person then, and what's more important is that you changed….for the better, because you learned your lesson. You've dedicated your life to a new cause. You help so many women, on a daily basis. You've saved so many of them, hundreds-" Ric broke off when I interrupted.

"But _she's_ still dead!" I yelled out, burying my head in my hands. The guilt was overwhelming. I felt as if the weight of the world was crushing down on me. "Whatever I've done, no matter how many women I've saved, it still won't bring her back! She's dead because of me, Ric. _My_ choices, _my_ decisions, led to her death," I bit out in frustration.

They wouldn't understand, not unless they've lived it. I stood up and drained the last of my Coke, keeping my eye on the other glass the whole time. It had become a ritual, almost. Whenever I felt like giving up or when I was in despair, I would come to the bar and order a glass of bourbon and a Coke. I would spend an hour just staring at the bourbon, reminding myself that one person's choice could change the life of another. Then I would get up and leave the drink untouched, feeling a renewed sense of purpose again.

"I can't change what happened to _her_, but I can still change what happens to Elena. I am going to help her whether she wants me to or not." With that, I left my friends at the bar, leaving it up to them if they wanted to drink my new sense of purpose. No sense wasting a perfectly good shot of bourbon.

* * *

**Read and review, because this story means a lot to me and to my friend Angela. **

**So many of you have opened up to me about your own experiences or of someone that you know, whether in a review or in a PM. It means a lot to me that this story touched so many of you and I do agree that there aren't many stories of this nature. It's time for people to wake up. **

**Please do leave me your feedback because I want to know what you really think of this. Angela reads your reviews and you have to know that they mean a lot to her as well. **

**Thank you!**


	3. Chapter 3

**So, October 30****th**** was my birthday and I wished for Damon and Elena to go on an endless roadtrip for the rest of Season 4 since we all know that the best version of Elena is when she goes on these trips with Damon. It's even better if she's drunk! I actually tweeted to Julie Plec about my birthday request, so if that really happens on the show, then you can all thank me for it later. HINT: I like money and store credit. But since I don't live in the US, I'll take cash. *wink***

**So, I am grateful for all your support and kind words. I must admit that I struggled with this chapter, hence the late update. I don't know what it was, but the words just refused to come out. I basically forced myself to just write…anything and everything and the result is this mess of a chapter. I hope you'll forgive me for it, but hey, I guess every writer has a writer's block they have to bulldoze their way through at one point or another, right? Just nod and go along with me, thanks!**

**Just a quick thank you nudge at my jaw-droppingly awesome beta, who's really a cheerleader cum sounding board. Everybody…hats off to Kristi (tukct81)! Now that we're all hat-less, it's time to settle down and read Chapter Three of A Woman's Worth. And oh, REVIEW will you? They make me really happy and it is my birthday, after all (in some countries anyway). Thank you in advance for your kindness.**

* * *

**A Woman's Worth: Chapter Three**

_Elena's POV_

I love him.

I do. Isn't that _all_ that matters? Isn't that what every girl dreams of and every woman wants? Someone whom we love and who loves us in return? Mason was that person for me; I even pictured us getting married one day. It was _that_ kind of love, one that was eternal and unbreakable.

But if that was true, then why did I feel guilty when Caroline burst into the room just as Mason was apologizing? And oh God, when the door swung open and I saw _him_, Damon Salvatore….the look in his eyes; it was as if I had betrayed _him _too. I could see a world of hurt and disbelief as my gaze met his. I almost choked at his expression alone, but then he turned away before I could mouth an apology for the hurt I'd somehow caused him.

It didn't make any sense. Why _should_ I apologize for wanting to work things out with Mason, my boyfriend? For allowing Mason to stay, for forgiving him yet again for something that just….happened?

It was an accident. It was an accident. It was an accident.

I kept repeating those words throughout the night as he held me, as Mason murmured how much he loved me, how much he regretted pushing me, how he didn't realize how much force he put into the shove that sent me crashing onto the side of the table. By two in the morning, I had already managed to convince myself that he didn't mean to cause me any harm; not the life-threatening kind anyway.

But what about the slap? There was nothing accidental about it, was there? It was deliberate, well aimed, and filled with so much rage behind the action. I could tell how furious Mason was getting, even while he was getting beer out of the fridge, when he was raising his voice. Perhaps my assumption that I could still attend the party without him, by using his car without his permission, was the last straw.

I knew what I was setting myself up for the moment he came home in a foul mood, and yet I had stubbornly refused to back off of him despite the warning signs I could clearly see. I should have just kept my mouth shut and did what he said, to stay home and just be a supportive girlfriend. Instead, I caused him to worry about me, to spend more money on me as I began my recovery in the hospital…knowing full well that I didn't have any health insurance.

I did it again. I imposed on Mason again. The truth was I couldn't afford any medical expenses on my own, and I was already spending his money on my college and our daily expenditure. And then there he was, on the bed next to me, telling me not to worry and that he didn't care about the money; he only wanted me to get well and to go home with him.

A small part of me rejected the idea. I didn't think that I could go back with him and act as if nothing had happened, not so soon anyway. But where would I go? I had no place to go, nowhere to run to. Besides, running wouldn't help and it wasn't the solution here. I owed it to myself and to Mason to stay and work this out. We were happy once; I was so certain that we could be happy again, as soon as we got past this rocky patch in our relationship.

By the time Mason woke up early that morning to go home and change for work, I had already made up my mind.

It was an accident.

* * *

"Well, I'm glad to see _you're_ still alive!" my best friend announced as soon as she entered the room, swinging a paper bag with one hand and holding onto her boyfriend with another. Despite my medically-induced drowsy mind, I detected the note of sarcasm that accompanied her greeting but I chose to ignore her intentional jab at Mason and smiled at Tyler instead.

"Hey, E," he smiled back, calling me by the nickname he gave me when I started dating his uncle; his very _young_ uncle. In fact, Mason was only five years older than Tyler. "I heard about the accident and I'm glad that you're okay," he went on as he came to stand beside the bed, reaching out a hand to pat my arm comfortingly.

I returned his easy smile, nodding gratefully as I started to thank him for visiting, but apparently, Caroline had other ideas. "Oh please!" she snorted in disgust. "I _told_ you that it wasn't an accident! That jerk of an uncle of yours did this to her and if it wasn't for my pig-headed friend here, he would be behind bars right now!" She was glaring at me with her scary accusing eyes, and I sighed wearily, refusing to engage in a battle I knew I would lose, so I just shook my head at Tyler and kept quiet.

"Care Bear, obviously E doesn't want to talk about it right now, so why don't you drop it? The girl _did_ almost die yesterday!" Tyler said defensively. I wanted to hug him then, if only I could move. Honestly, if I didn't love Caroline as much as I did, I would have killed her by now! Granted, I knew that she meant well and that she was looking out for me, but she never knew when to pick her battles. I thought I made it clear that the subject of Mason was off limits the previous night when she burst in out of the blue and interrupted us. I had to practically kick her out by asking her to bring over some of my stuff from home, which I assumed were in the paper bag she brought with her.

But no; she was like a dog with a bone. Once she bites on something, she _never_ lets go. "Exactly! She almost died and she probably _would_ have if I hadn't gone over to your uncle's house, insisting to see her!" Within half a second, her expression went from angry consternation to sorrow. "She was blue, Ty….blue! No thanks to Mason, I'm _never_ going to get that image out of my head, seeing her lying on the bed, her face swollen and red, and-" she broke off and drew a shaky breath as if to calm herself down, tears welling up in her eyes.

It was then that I realized how much the incident affected her too. That it wasn't just me that had to deal Mason, but also people who cared about me, watching helplessly. "Care, I'm fine. I'm okay now," I managed to croak out, my throat still sore and dry from the extubation process. God, I _hated_ that tube! I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.

"Oh, Elena!" she exclaimed as she jumped up on the bed beside me and leaned in for a hug, uncharacteristically gentle to avoid tugging on the chest tube still attached to my side. "I can't tell you how relieved I am to know that you're okay! If anything had happened to you… you can totally count on me to cheerfully commit murder to avenge your death, you know that, right?"

Before I could assure her that I loved her too, the door opened and in walked my doctor and Damon, my personal bodyguard, or so he told me, holding a similar paper bag in his hand. I still wasn't sure what role he played in all this drama, but I did know that he managed to calm me down when I woke up stressed out and panicky the day before. I still hadn't allowed myself to think of Damon or how utterly charming I thought he was when I first saw him, but now that he was in the room with me, in the flesh, I found myself unable to ignore his enigmatic presence, especially when his eyes locked with mine immediately upon entering the room.

Did the room suddenly feel ten degrees warmer or was it just me?

Caroline lifted herself off of me when she heard the arrival of people into the room and I watched her face reddened as she smiled broadly at Damon as if they had been old friends. "Hi, Damon! Dr. Fell," she greeted with a wave and turned to a suspicious looking Tyler, whose eyes were shifting back and forth from her to the new arrivals. "This is my boyfriend Tyler Lockwood. Tyler, this is Dr. Fell and Damon Salvatore," she introduced.

"Lockwood?" Damon's eyes narrowed when they fell on Tyler for the first time. "As in-"

"As in Mason's nephew," Caroline interjected smoothly. "Mason's the youngest brother of Tyler's dad but they aren't that close," she explained hastily, making it clear that her boyfriend was nothing like his uncle. Surprisingly, I took offence to that. I always thought that they were more similar than I had initially thought, in terms of sense of humor, mannerisms, and personality. Mason was more or less a perfect boyfriend before all this happened.

"Now that we've established who I am, just who the hell are _you_?" Tyler asked rather rudely to my surprise. Apparently, Caroline was taken aback too, since she scolded him for his lack of manners with a reproachful "Tyler!"

"Me? I'm just the guy who has the power to put your uncle behind bars if he so much as lay a hand on Elena again," Damon responded dryly, not even fazed by the younger man.

"You a cop?" I was glad that Tyler asked since I was curious about it as well. Vaguely, I recalled an overheard conversation between Damon, Dr. Fell and Caroline while I was still semi-conscious that hinted at his identity.

I was almost certain that the answer was 'yes' but he surprised me yet again when he shook his head and said with a triumphant smile, "No, but one of my best friends is a detective and the other is the head of the Domestic Violence Network. I do, however, own a gun, if that is at all helpful."

Holy cannoli!He owned a freaking gun? Was it wrong that I found the image of him wielding a gun rather dangerous but yet hot at the same time? Belatedly, I noticed that the object of my musing was having a staring match with the boyfriend of my best friend and neither seemed to be backing off, but luckily, Dr. Fell intervened before they broke into a fist fight.

"Alright, this has been very interesting so far, but I think that you're forgetting that I have a patient to attend to and she's right here in the room, witnessing this little exchange," she informed them, and just like that, all eyes were now trained on me.

"Sorry," Damon mumbled, seeming to remember my presence after that testosterone-filled staring competition. He made his way towards me, scrutinizing me from head to toe as if checking for signs of torture, and then failing to find any, released a sigh of relief. He looked as if he had been worried about me, and I felt quite touched for some reason, that some guy I barely knew was actually concerned for my well being.

"Damon, did you hear what I said? I need to check on Elena's condition so you're going to have to leave the room…_all_ of you," Dr. Fell said, this time her gaze swept over to the couple who was whispering among themselves.

I was expecting the three of them to obediently file out of the room, leaving me alone with my doctor, but I was wrong. Again. I've never been wrong so many times in a row before. "Uh uh, you threw me out of the room _twice_ yesterday, both times against my better judgment, so I'm staying put today," the raven haired man said defiantly and proceeded to park his butt on the seat closest to me with his arms crossed for emphasis. Sensing the doctor's approaching dispute, he quickly made his argument. "Mer, _you_ brought me into this case, and you should know by now how I work, so…" he lifted an eyebrow and looked pointedly at the other two visitors. Wait, so I was a _case_ to him?

"Well, if you're staying, then _I'm_ staying too!" Caroline piped up, practically skipping over to take the seat next to Damon. "Tyler, will you please go get Elena a glass of water? Thanks!" she winked at the affronted man, who then turned around wordlessly to exit the room.

Damon seemed impressed with her, citing, "Wow, you have him so well trained! What other tricks does he know besides 'fetch'?" His teasing earned him an irritated look from Caroline, who proceeded to roll her eyes at him.

I couldn't help it. I giggled. It was difficult to do considering my aching chest and scratchy throat, but I succeeded anyway, albeit it sounded more like a chesty cough than a ladylike chuckle. Simultaneously, three pairs of eyes shot to my face, but I only saw one; the one that reminded me of clear blue skies on a perfectly cloudless and sunny day. His expression was a mixture of surprise and wonder, probably brought on by the unfamiliar sound accompanied by my wide grin.

Damon Salvatore had a fantastic sense of humor. He reminded me of…well, me, before I lost my entire family in one day anyway. It was a weird sensation, being able to laugh again. I was convinced that I had forgotten how, until now.

"See? Even Elena agrees with me," he quipped, winking at me as a gesture of solidarity. Unexpectedly, it made me feel warm and tingly inside, making me wonder why I was responding so strongly to someone I had only met less than twenty-four hours ago. "So, what's in the bag, Care Bear? You don't happen to have the head of our nocturnal intruder from last night, do you?"

Great, now even Damon was on Mason's case. _And_ he called my best friend by her special nickname which I assumed she loved because she was positively beaming as she rolled her eyes at him. "I wish! I just brought some of Elena's stuff from the house - some clothes, toiletries, pretty underwear and make-up, you know, the usual girl stuff. I figured she should look presentable just in case she meets a dashing eligible bachelor in the hospital, preferably one who doesn't come with a side effect of pain….unless it's the _good_ kind of pain," she added as an afterthought much to my mortification. She was discussing my unmentionables and meeting potential dates with – wait, what was that look Damon just flashed me with? Was he imagining me in a pair of tattered grannie panties or enacting potential scenes from the Fifty Shades of Grey movie?

I so wished Caroline had her own endotracheal tube right then, if only to shut her up. Why, God, _why_? Of all people I could have sat next to in fourth grade, why did it have to be _her_? Why couldn't it have been Bonnie Bennett, the strange, quiet little girl who kept on mumbling cryptic Latin phrases as she stared at everyone with judgy eyes, including me?

"Damon, this is highly irregular! I can't simply allow you to stay just because of our friendship! Besides, I'm sure Elena doesn't want you both in here as I'm performing her check-up," Dr. Fell spoke up, her brows furrowing with disapproval. So, they were just friends…which meant that they weren't dating. But why should I even care about that, right? I was still fuming over Caroline and her unfiltered mouth.

I shook my head slightly, intending to get the check-up over with so that I could delve into the reason Damon was here in the first place. What sort of 'case' was he referring to? Was he serious about wanting to put Mason behind bars? Did it have anything to do with Domestic Violence Network his friend was involved in? Was Mason in trouble?

"It's fine, they can stay," I heard myself saying, and then added when a random thought occurred to me. "I-I don't have to get naked, do I?" Suddenly, the idea of being naked with Damon in the room seemed ridiculously stupid, even with the curtains around the bed for privacy.

"A little naked, since I have to check the incision where the chest tube was inserted to make sure that there are no infections, and I'll also need to check the bruises on your chest. I'll pull the curtains, okay?" the doctor said while giving Damon the evil eye, seemingly still perturbed by his presence.

I must have been wearing an alarmed expression as well, because just as Dr. Fell was pulling the curtains around me, Damon hurriedly stood up and removed an item from his paper bag, then thrust it into my hands with a hesitant smile. "This is for you, in case you need some company at night rather than…well, it's just a small…umm….just, here," he stammered and then disappeared behind the curtain, leaving me staring in bewildered shock at what I was holding; it was a brown-colored teddy bear with a bandage around its head, with the words 'Hug Me, I'm Sick' sewn on its chest.

He was too-freaking-adorable. So was the bear. I couldn't help but to smile down at it, feeling my nervousness dissipating completely.

When I looked up at Dr. Fell, I saw her stunned expression as she was also gazing down at the gift from Damon and then a small smile tugged at her lips. She seemed as surprised as I was at his gesture, but she didn't say anything as she settled into her professional demeanor once again. By now, a nurse had joined her behind the curtain and she was reaching over to untie the back of my hospital gown and lower the top so that my chest was exposed. I released an involuntary gasp when I saw how purple and swollen my skin was. It looked as if it should hurt a lot more than I felt.

"What? What is it?" came the urgent voice of Damon, his dark silhouette just behind the curtain. I panicked for a split second, thinking that he was going to yank the curtain back and expose my bared upper body, so I clutched the bear tightly against my chest, letting out a painful wince at the added pressure. "Hey Mer, why is she in pain? Is something wrong?" he asked anxiously.

"Jeez, Damon, you scared her, that's all! Nothing's wrong, it's healing….slowly, but healing. Now sit down quietly and let me do my job or I'm calling Ric," the exasperated doctor reprimanded, shaking her head at me. For the next ten minutes, she checked on my injuries, changed the dressing for my wounds and checked the incision at my side. And then she pressed a stethoscope to my chest, asking me to breathe deeply a few times, which hurt and caused me to cough, which in turn caused discomfort with the chest drain in place. Tears sprang to my eyes as I allowed myself to feel sorry for myself, wondering how much longer I could tolerate having the tube in me, being in the hospital, in pain and confused over everything.

Dr. Fell watched me struggle with my emotions with sympathetic eyes and patted my arm comfortingly as she leaned in to whisper, "It's okay to feel overwhelmed, Elena. You've been through a lot these past couple of days, and I know it's not easy pretending like everything's normal when it's far from it. I'm actually impressed that you're not constantly in tears!"

I shook my head with a sad smile, knowing that my next words would cause a pitying look from the doctor. "Trust me, I've been pretending ever since my parents died, and my injuries this time…they're nothing compared to the pain I felt then." I was right; Dr. Fell's eyes were wide with sympathy…before they narrowed suspiciously.

"Wait, you said _'this time'_? As in you were injured by Mr. Lockwood before?" Her voice was loud enough to be heard by the people on the other side of the curtain, as proven when two shadows appeared right against the fabric.

"Elena! Why didn't you tell me?" came voice number one; my best friend.

"What? When was this? How badly were you hurt?" came voice number two; my personal bodyguard, and bear-giver.

Crap. Poop. Manure. Dung. Shit. Turd. Stool. Feces. All the synonyms of the word I could recall at that point in time. I didn't mean to disclose that little secret, not like that! I could just imagine the next few moments of my life flashing before my very eyes.

"Mer, let me in. Now!" Damon's dangerously low voice made me shiver as I clutched my hospital gown around my neck, fully expecting to see a head with a patch of dark hair poking over the edge of the curtain at any moment. I was half-right; there _was_ a head poking through, all right, but it was covered with blonde curls.

"Elena! Seriously, were you _ever_ going to tell me? I'm your best friend! You're supposed to tell me these things so that I can kill Mason!" Caroline burst out indignantly, her face red from suppressing her anger and impulse to do exactly what she just said.

Okay, denial-time. "N-no, I didn't mean it like that. H-he didn't-" I stuttered stupidly, hating my inability to lie straight-faced to the person who knew me best. Or even the person who knew me least, apparently.

"Elena, stop lying to protect him! He's a repeat offender! That means that he'll keep on-" Damon broke off, swearing softly. "Are you decent? I'm coming in! Three, two, one…" he warned as I peeked down at myself to check if I was covered, just in time, too, before he pulled back the curtain back with his eyes closed. "Ready? Three, two, one…and open," he said and peeked through a half-opened eye first and then both when he saw that I was fully clothed.

"Damon! We weren't finished yet! You shouldn't have done that! I ought to kick you out right now!" Dr. Fell scolded crossly, glaring at him for his intrusion in the middle of an examination. But he didn't seem to care as he came to stand next to me, grasping my hand, his attention on me and me alone.

"Never mind that. Elena," he regarded me seriously, his intensely blue eyes trained on mine. "Tell me the truth; how many times has he hurt you?" For a moment there, all I could do was to blink at him, completely distracted by the feel of his hand on mine; a strangely familiar sensation. I couldn't think, I couldn't speak, I couldn't do anything other than to gape at him like a fish out of water.

Luckily, my doctor came to the rescue. "Back off, Damon," she said slowly which emphasized the seriousness of her tone. Right then she wasn't Damon's friend; she was my doctor and she wasn't about to let anything jeopardize my road to recovery. "I mean it! She's been though a horrible ordeal and we have to focus on her getting better, not send her BP skyrocketing! Do you hear me? Back off!"

Nobody spoke for some time. Damon just continued to stare right at me while I gripped the stuffed bear with my free hand even tighter against my chest. And then his expression softened, his entire body losing its rigid stance as he sagged against the edge of my bed. His gaze slid down to my chest and for a moment there, I wondered if he could see through the fabric but then his abrupt change in topic threw me off.

"You're suffocating Mr. Cuddles," he gestured towards my chest. I was about to open my mouth to reprimand him for naming my breasts and also for being completely inappropriate when I looked down to see that he was merely expressing concern over the bear, which was distorted from my ministrations.

"Mr. Cuddles?" I repeated, loving the name that he came up with. I found myself being constantly surprised by my new friend, and the intrigue surrounding him deepening the more I got to know him. Oddly enough, he was acting as if we had been friends forever, the way it had seemed so easy and comfortable whenever he was around me. It was…nice.

"Yeah, I took the liberty of naming the bear. It's important to bond as soon as possible, you know? Isn't that the start of every beautiful relationship?" his smirk hinted at some inside joke to his question that he wasn't sharing with the rest of us.

"So you've bonded with my bear, named him and now you're giving him to me?" I asked, amused beyond anything. "The poor guy might have some serious abandonment issues, so who's gonna pay for the therapy sessions?" At some point, it would hit me that I was freaking out over accidentally spilling the truth about my previous incident with Mason one minute and the next, I was practically joking with Damon over a teddy bear! I guessed that Dr. Fell's warning _did_ pay off…..or Damon was really good at distracting me from my woes.

Before he could respond, however, Tyler came back into the room, his attention zeroed in on our clasped hands through the half-opened curtain. I had almost forgotten that Damon was still holding onto my hand, looking entirely too comfortable doing so, if I was being honest. What worried me was that I didn't even think about how it would seem to Tyler, my boyfriend's nephew…until this moment.

"What's going on, and what the hell do you think you're doing with my uncle's girl?" he asked disapprovingly. Immediately, Damon's hand disconnected with mine as he turned to face the younger guy. Guilt filled every pore of my body when I thought about how disrespectful I was being to Mason, being that close to another guy and then to do it in front of other people….I felt so ashamed of myself.

"Ty, don't be rude! Damon's just trying to help Elena. Besides, it's Mason's fault that 'his girl' is in the hospital in the first place," Care tried to deflect but her boyfriend was having none of that.

"Will you just shut up about that?" he roared, taking all of us aback at his sudden anger. "I don't believe for a second that Uncle Mase would do that to Elena, or _anyone_ for that matter! I think you're trying to pin this on him because you've never approved of him, but guess what, Care? It was an accident!"

It was…sort of. I mean, it was.

"What the hell are you talking about? You weren't there! You didn't see what I saw, or the way that monster refused to get help for her! Look at Elena, Ty. She's our friend and now she's got a tube running into her sides because of what your uncle did to her, so why can't you see that Damon's not the enemy here but Mason is?" I knew that Caroline was growing angrier by the second, judging by the fists at her sides but unfortunately, Tyler wasn't backing down, not without putting up a fight. I could sort of see her point of view, but I also didn't like the way she painted Mason as the _only_ guilty party here. I was as much to blame as he was. I was the one who made him angry in the first place. _I_ was responsible for what happened to me.

"Because he's my family and I don't appreciate random strangers poking their noses in where they don't belong, trying to frame my uncle for something he didn't do! Did you guys even bother to ask E her version of what happened or did you two just jump to conclusion based on what you _thought_ you saw at their house?"

I saw both Damon and Caroline's faces snap to mine, studying my reaction to Tyler's question. But instead of a defensive remark from my blonde friend, it was Dr. Fell who leaped to my defense. "It was a conclusion based on _my_ professional medical opinion, and as for Damon's involvement,_ I_ called him in because I suspected abuse when I treated Elena yesterday. Regardless of whether that's true, my main concern is Elena's well-being and her speedy recovery without the additional stress of having to go through the entire emotional ordeal again right now. So I suggest you three either get with the program or else don't let the door hit you on your way out."

I loved my doctor! I loved her no-holds-barred approach in such circumstances while being rather scary in a caring way.

"Look, Ty, why don't you just go home and I'll call you later, okay?" Caroline, feeling properly chastised for the moment, suggested with a sheepish look at me.

"Fine. E, get well soon, 'kay?" Tyler sighed and left after I nodded with a grateful smile.

While I knew that Care was only being overprotective out of concern for me, I really didn't want to deal with anything other than just focusing on getting well and getting discharged from the hospital. That was all that mattered to me. I didn't want to worry about the aftermath or the fact that I had to face Mason on my own soon; I just wanted to bury my head in the ground and hide for a few months, in all honesty.

"Damon?" Dr. Fell's attention shifted to him now that one half of the male-testosterone had left, leaving the only man who could see into my soul when his eyes searched mine, perhaps looking for a clue as to whether I wanted him there or not. My uncertainty must have been obvious as he decided to drop the issue, for now at least.

"Anyone up for a game of Monopoly? I'm assuming that Twister's out," he commented dryly while reaching into his paper bag to reveal the board game and held it up questioningly in a rather abrupt change of subject.

I smiled at him gratefully, which he then returned before declaring that he was the banker and had every right to "borrow" money whenever he wanted. Ha, he still lost, anyway! But then, so did I.

* * *

Thankfully, the rest of the week passed by without a single utterance of the A-word; abuse - for anyone keeping track. Though Mason had stopped by to visit every single evening without fail after office hours, he never stayed the night again. He did, however, raise an inquiring eyebrow at my new toy, only for me to lie through my teeth as I told him that it was a gift from Caroline.

So my days were filled with daily visits from Caroline, Damon, and scattered visits during the day from a few of my college mates who heard about my 'accident', and then Mason would turn up, exchange glares with my new bodyguard without fail as the latter left and my nights were spent with Mr. Cuddles, who quickly became my source of comfort whenever I woke up in the middle of the night from nightmares.

They were mostly filled with a fear of suffocation, being unable to breathe. I would wake up, lurching forward, gasping for air. Other nightmares involved images of an unrecognizable monstrous face, with red and terrifying eyes just staring at me, judging me, taunting me. Those scared me more than anything else, even more than the thought of dying from suffocation.

There was _one_ occasion though, when I was dreaming that I was running from the monster, just running for my life until my legs gave out from underneath and I was falling and falling, until a pair of strong arms caught me. They belonged to a man whose features were too blurry to make out, but one thing stood out; it was a pair of brilliant blue eyes that were now more familiar to me than my own.

Without a doubt, Damon Salvatore was my dream-time savior.

* * * _Abuse is a form of bullying_ * * *

On the sixth morning of my stay at the hospital before any of my daily visitors dropped by, Dr. Fell came into my room with a broad smile on her pretty face, announcing that it was time to have my chest tube removed. I almost jumped for joy or even attempted to moon walk across the hospital room floor had it not been for my prohibited movements due to the length of the suction tube. I could have settled for a crotch grab and thrust ala the late King of Pop if I wasn't so worried of Damon walking in during the performance.

So, it was with a mixture of trepidation and anticipation that I clutched my bear tightly to my chest and waited for the morphine to kick in while the nurse pulled the curtains around me again and adjusted my bed into position, all the while explaining what I should be doing during the actual procedure. I barely understood a word of the medical jargon being sprouted at me, but I was always pretty good at taking instructions, so I did what I was told with minimum fuss. I had already tuned out by the time she finished talking, just in time to feel the calming effects of the drugs. I was also secretly hoping to get a lollipop as a reward.

The actual procedure took less time than I expected; barely five minutes had passed and to my immense relief, I was tube-free. Dr. Fell continued to monitor my respiratory status to make sure that the removal process went without a hitch and then I was being pushed towards the x-ray department to make sure that my lungs were still expanding. That particular process took more time and so when I was finally rolled back to my room, Damon was pacing up and down, worried out of his mind, judging by the messy dark locks on his head, no doubt from running his fingers through them.

His terrified gaze snapped to me as soon as I entered the room in a wheelchair with a nurse behind me. "Elena!" he gasped and hurried over to kneel down in front of me. "Thank God! I thought something had happened! I asked the nurses and they wouldn't tell me anything, and then I-" he stopped abruptly when he finally noticed what was missing. "Where's your chest tube? Did you pull it out? Does Meredith know?"

I was too happy to be rid of the limiting medical device to even take offence that he doubted my self-control, so I just smiled and shook my head. "No, she doesn't, so don't tell her! I only did it because I wanted to go outside but this mean nurse caught me and forced me back here," I joked, feeling a little of my former self returning in light of this latest development. It was as if I had my freedom after being grounded for a year. Or a decade! I would never take the ability to move around unrestricted for granted again. "Hey, Damon, wanna see the big gaping hole at the side of my chest?"

I saw the light bulb going off in his brain, and then he was holding back his laughter at my teasing comments. "So you're free now, huh?" he asked excitedly, as if he had some kind of plan to whisk me off to the ends of the earth to celebrate my freedom.

"Not quite yet. I have to stay a few more days to make sure that everything's working properly and that there are no infections, but other than that, I can move around a little," I told him, wriggling my feet for effect. I wanted to stand up and twirl around the room, but Dr. Fell thought that I should take it easy since I hadn't been on my feet for a week, except for potty breaks and physiotherapy. But even then, I was always supported by a nurse just to make sure that I didn't accidently pull the chest tube out or cause a reverse flow.

Damon nodded with relief, and then turned to address the nurse. "Can I take her for a walk? I'll make sure she gets back safely, I promise." What? He was asking permission to take me somewhere that _wasn't_ my room? Where should I sign up?

I almost burst out in tears of joy when the kindly nurse nodded her consent, warning him to 'keep an eye on me or Dr. Fell would hear about it'. I waited impatiently as she adjusted the brakes of the wheelchair and then folded the footrest so that I could stand up, which I did, shakily with Damon's support. He was holding me so close to him that I could smell his aftershave and see the short stubbles on his chin and neck. I was the kind of girl who liked a clean-shaven guy, but even _I_ had to admit; Damon was hot with a stubble. It emphasized his strong jaw.

It felt really good to be on my feet for a change, and with Damon's right arm wrapped securely around my back and the other holding my left elbow; we slowly made our way out of the room and down a busy corridor. I couldn't help the happy grin that appeared on my face as I took each step, and my expression was mirrored in his as well as we somehow made our way towards a colorful corridor this time. I assumed correctly that it was the pediatric wing when we were greeted with murals along the walls; a clown's antics, a red bus filled with animals, a white rabbit hopping into a hole, a tooth fairy….all emblems of childhood that brought back memories of a happier and simpler time.

At first I thought that we were merely passing through, but then Damon surprised me when he steered me towards one of the children's wards and into a room where a fair-haired little girl around the age of six was playing with a Raggedy Ann doll at a low round table. I raised my puzzled eyes to his, silently questioning who she was and why we were there.

"I wanted you to meet my special friend, Annabelle…..Anna for short," he announced by way of explanation. He led me over to the small table and helped me sink down onto one of the plastic chairs that were only as high as my ankles before he did the same on a seat next to me. "Hi, Anna. It's me, Damon, remember me?" he asked the little girl, who showed no sign that she heard him. In fact, she didn't acknowledge our presence at all, instead just continuing to braid the shockingly red hair of her doll.

"Anna, I brought a friend to meet you. Her name is Elena and she's staying right here in the hospital too. Can you say hello to her?" he went on, his voice so soft and gentle as he regarded her. I didn't expect her to respond, and she didn't at first, but then she raised her shy gaze to me, providing me with a full-on view of her face. She was adorable, with a pixie cut-hairstyle that made her look like a cheeky elf, except that she had a bald spot on the left side of her head, where a dark ugly scar was visible. Her eyes were also blue, like Damon's, but there was a tinge of green in them as well. Oddly, she reminded me of a smaller version of Caroline. Her arms and legs were covered with pink-colored pajamas, that seemed too big for her tiny body.

Anna took me by surprise when she raised the arm of her doll in a wave at my direction; her version of a hello, I supposed. I waved back, pleased that she didn't shy away from me or threw a tantrum, which some children does upon meeting a random stranger. "Hi, Anna. That's a really pretty doll you've got there," I told her with what I hoped was a friendly smile. Being an only child, I wasn't particularly comfortable with kids. To be honest, they frightened me a little, perhaps because I could never predict how they'd react and they seem to be able to see things in a straightforward view, cutting through all the pretenses.

That was why I was taken aback when she shifted to a seat nearer to me and hesitatingly stroked the ends of my long hair, her fingers so petite and gentle. "I think she likes you, or more accurately, your hair," Damon commented, his expression pleased as he watched over Anna protectively. For a fleeting moment, I wondered if she was related to him…a niece or a friend's daughter. Otherwise, why would he have introduced us?

As if he could read my mind, he provided me with an answer to my unspoken question. "Anna was one of my charges. Ric, my best friend who ran the DVN, assigned her case to me and we've been inseparable ever since," he explained, further enhancing my curiosity.

"One of your charges? You mean she's -" I trailed off, my heart thudding with fear for the little girl beside me. I was beginning to feel nauseous at the thought of what I left unsaid at the end of my sentence.

"…a victim of abuse, yes," Damon confirmed with a nod. I stared at the angelic little girl and felt bile rising in my throat at the thought of someone capable of hurting someone so young and so innocent. I couldn't understand it.

"What happened to her?" I asked, and then immediately regretted it. I didn't really want to know, but yet, I _had_ to know. I was torn in two, but my curiosity won out.

"It's a long story, but if you really want to hear it, we have to move over to the couch over there," he told me, gesturing to a corner over by the windows. I nodded and he quickly came over to help me up, this time, supporting me under my armpits with both hands until I was standing straight up. "Anna, sweetie, Elena and I have to talk alone, okay? Will you stay right here and play with your doll?" he asked her, his hand reaching out to stroke her smooth cheek. It was a very sweet and loving action, one that demonstrated the close relationship that they shared. It was obvious that Anna trusted him, as proven when she returned to her initial seat and resumed braiding her doll's hair.

We moved over to the PVC couch and Damon took a seat right beside, his body turned towards me with his elbow resting on the backrest. "Anna's father, Alan, was a useless a-hole who liked to take out his anger at his family members, starting with his ex-wife, Pearl," he began the story in a soft tone, keeping a watchful eye on Anna all the while, for fear of being overheard. "He used to beat up Pearl until her hospital visits were so regular that she actually had a room that was sort of reserved for her. Most of the hospital staff was on first name basis with her and everyone had come to care about her so much that they frequently advised her to leave Alan, to divorce him and start a new life with her daughter. Anna was only a year old at the time."

It was only the start of the story, and I was about to bawl my eyes out already. I was so sure that I had a red nose and red-rimmed eyes by now, but thankfully, Damon didn't comment on them.

"Pearl didn't listen and decided to stay for their daughter's sake because she didn't want to break the family up. Cut to a year later, Pearl was admitted to this hospital yet again due to a fractured wrist, some broken ribs and a concussion from Alan's latest violent rage, only to return home after being discharged to find him in bed with their next door neighbor. That was when she finally decided that enough was enough. She proceeded with divorce proceedings against Alan and they fought for full custody of Anna for the next year, until the court awarded custody to Alan due to the fact that Pearl had no income, with no means to support her daughter. Apparently, the judge didn't take physical abuse as an issue, since Pearl hadn't lodged any police report against her husband at the time of the attacks. He also came up with a lie that she was having an affair behind his back and that it was her lover that attacked her."

Through my unshed tears, I watched Damon swallow as he took a ragged breath in the midst of recounting Anna's story, and I instantly knew that the worst had yet to come. "So the judge believed him?" I asked incredulously.

"I think it was more like he didn't have a choice than to let Anna stay with her father, since Pearl had no job, no house, and what little savings she had left, she had spent it all on legal fees to battle out the divorce. Pearl figured that she'd leave, find a stable career, get herself sorted out first, and _then_ come back for Anna. That was her best bet at the time. She also had a good relationship with Alan's mother, who had agreed to keep an eye on Anna on her behalf, to make sure that she didn't come to any harm, but soon after Pearl left, he started using his own mother as a punching bag as well, only _this_ time, he was always careful that she didn't end up with injuries serious enough to be hospitalized.

"Pearl met someone else and eventually got married a year and a half ago, and now she has a baby boy with her new husband, but she always had the intention to come back for Anna…so she did, a few months ago," he paused, dragging his palm over his face wearily. "I will never forget the night I got the call at the center from my other best friend, Elijah, the one who is a cop, telling me that he had Alan in his custody after he admitted that he had attacked someone; his daughter. What happened was that Pearl and Alan got into a huge fight about Anna at his house, and after Pearl left, he took out his frustrations at a small, defenseless child, kicking her viciously on the floor before lifting her up against the wall and shook her violently. Then he lifted her up to his full height and threw her on the floor, where she landed hard, her head slammed down on the ground. Anna was unresponsive after that, and several minutes later, the cops and an ambulance showed up after a neighbor reported about a commotion, and she was rushed to the hospital. That was when I got the call."

Tears were streaming down my face by then, and I tore my horrified gaze from him to the little girl who had somehow survived from the ordeal. I thought about how close she'd come to dying, but thanked God that she had a guardian angel looking over her, since she was able to come back from such a brutal attack. I couldn't understand what would make a person, _any_ person, let alone a parent do what he did to her.

"Oh please tell me there's a happy ending to this story!" I pleaded when I returned my attention to Damon, who seemed as distraught as I was. To my dismay, he shook his head sadly.

"No, there's no happy ending to this story, Elena," he declared mournfully. "That's the thing; it _could_ have been a happy ending if Pearl had left Alan when Anna was a year old, but instead, she chose to stay, putting herself and her daughter at risk because of some noble notion that they had to remain together as a family."

"But then Alan's in jail, right? I mean, he confessed about the attack, so surely Pearl would gain custody over Anna now, wouldn't she?" I glanced over at the blonde girl again, feeling a slight feeling of hope swelling in my chest. There ought to be a silver lining to every cloud, right?

Unexpectedly, Damon shook his head again. "The judge decided to grant temporary custody to Alan's mother, citing that Pearl already had a baby boy and her own family, and that it would be disruptive if Anna were to join in the family now. You see, Anna had a fractured skull, a blood clot in the brain, many fractured ribs and it had also left her with brain damage. She would sometimes just zone out completely and her responses are so much slower now. She also hasn't spoken since the attack…not a word," he finished sadly, his eyes filled with pain over the plight of the little girl.

Everything became crystal clear to me then. Anna was now deemed as a burden to her family, unable to attend school, would require special education classes, physical and psychological help, not to mention complete attention, which Pearl was unable to give since she had another baby that would require her full-time supervision. So, the court decided on the next best thing; her grandmother. But what would happen _when_ and _if_ Alan got released from jail? The potential tragedy sent uncomfortable shivers down my spine at the thought.

"Listen, we should head back to your room before Mer comes after me," Damon suggested as he gathered me closer to him, his hands rubbing up and down my arms as if he was trying to warm me up. I would have blushed to the roots of my hair if I had registered the overly familiar gesture, but I was too emotionally upset about the fate of the little girl whom I just met. So, I nodded mutely and allowed myself to be pulled up and then we were standing beside Anna again while Damon said our goodbyes. Impulsively, I leaned down to gather her frail little body into my arms and hugged her tightly, trying to ignore the fact that my previously sutured incision hurt like hell.

She didn't struggle, nor did she hug me back. When I released her, she went back to playing with her doll as if nothing happened. I wondered if she even realized that she was hugged by a stranger. Somehow, the thought made me want to cry, so I turned and exited the otherwise cheerful-looking room without another word, my tears threatening to spill out from my eyes. As I stumbled along half-blindly along the corridor, I felt Damon catching up with me and then he reached out an arm to halt my stride, and pivot me so that I was facing him. Then we were hugging in the middle of a crowded hallway, full of parents, fussing children and busy hospital staff.

"You're going back to _him_, aren't you?" his deep voice sounded louder than usual against my ear, filled with concern, resignation and disapproval. He hadn't broached the subject of Mason since Dr. Fell's warning earlier in the week, so I was taken aback that he decided to do it then, out of the blue. Then I realized that the whole exercise with Anna, the unexpected visit with one of his charges, the story of how Pearl should have left before the attacks got worse, and how Anna's life was forever ruined by her abusive father….it was all for my benefit.

He was wrong, though. Mason was not Alan Asshole. Mason would never _intentionally_ hurt me like that. He lost control in the heat of the moment. He loved me. And he was sorry.

"Yes."

* * *

**I can hear the yelling already! Yes, yes, stupid Elena! If she wasn't so blindly loyal, would she be our favorite heroine? Hmm? Anyway, if she knew better, this story would be three chapters long and I'll have free time on my hands again. So, for my sake and for you wonderful readers, let's all pretend as if we're happy that she's acting stupidly just so the story can go on. Done? Done. **

**BTW, the Alan story is based on a real occurrence that I just found out recently. My ex-colleague whose real name is ALAN, is now in jail for abusing his son, ex-wife and mother. And what happened to Anna in this story was what happened to his son in real life. I was disgusted when I heard that someone that I knew personally had such darkness in them to do such a thing. And yes, the real judge was as stupid too. **

**Thank you for reviewing :P **


	4. Chapter 4

**So, I tried to put the song "Feels So Close" by Calvin Harris on a constant loop at home and showed my hubby the video of Damon sauntering over to Elena so that he could recreate the scene, but when **_**he**_** did it, I didn't have the same feelings as I imagined. In fact, he looked like he was limping. Or had a cramp. In his crotch. **

**So, I am beyond happy that the first 3 chapters of AWW surpassed the review count for the first 3 chapters of Separate Beds, so I'm on cloud nine for that. Then I compare myself to other authors who probably get up to 3 times as much just by posting a "Hey" as a chapter update and I'm bummed again. Note to self: just stop comparing myself to others. I am my own person. I can't compare apples to watermelons. Good point, right? I thought so! So, the credit goes to all you fantastic readers and reviewers!**

* * *

**A Woman's Worth: Chapter Four**

_Damon's POV_

"I hope I'm not here to watch you two getting freaky on the desk or anything kinky like that," I commented teasingly as I sat on an armchair normally reserved for family of patients who were there to receive some bad news. I was in a familiar doctor's office, impossibly neat, impeccably clean and I have never felt more at home there than anywhere else in the world. I had a tiny bit of an OCD problem; a borderline germaphobe which was ironic since I'd been spending so much time in a hospital.

I crossed my legs and stretched out to a comfortable position because it appeared as if I was going to be there for a while. I felt as if I was facing the Spanish Inquisition, the way they were staring down at me. By '_they'_, I meant the IT couple of Mystic Falls General. No, I didn't mean Taylor Kinney and Lady Gaga, although I found myself wondering what he lovingly calls her in private. Gaga? Lady? And what was their 'ship' name? Tayga? Or Gaylor?

Back to the issue at hand, the IT couple I was referring to was Ric and Meredith, both on their feet side-by-side, leaning their perky behinds against the edge of her desk facing me, arms crossed and wearing completely conflicting expressions. Hers was mostly amused and curious while _his_ was one of disapproval and puzzlement. Or was _that_ his usual constipated look?

"All right, either you tell me why you hauled me in here like a misbehaved punk sent to see the school principal or I'll start to assume that you haven't done number two since you woke up with that pained look on your face right now." I had to give Ric an ultimatum or I'd spend the whole afternoon away from Elena when I could be in her room, beating her at Monopoly yet again.

I had to suppress a chuckle at the thought of her frowning in concentration whenever she rolled the dice, trying –and failing – to avoid my vast properties with numerous hotels across the board. For a girl in college and a whole semester on a management course, she was utterly rubbish in handling investments and finances. I usually had her beat in an hour, tops. Sometimes, a little over but that was only because she kept landing herself in jail, and had to roll doubles to get out because I held all the get-out-of-jail-free cards. That girl had the worst luck in Monopoly.

Perhaps we'd try playing Twister for a change. My lips pursed thoughtfully as I imagined the various positions our bodies could contort into and how much touching would be involved in the silly but yet intriguing game that required extreme proximity. It certainly made for an interesting version of foreplay. Random x-rated images appeared unbidden into my head but I stifled them immediately. It was wrong. She wasn't some chick I picked up at a bar and brought back home for a…. no, I couldn't even bring myself to finish the thought. Elena was my charge. That's _all_ she was going to be. Unless…

"Mer told me what you did, Damon. What were you thinking?" Ric's voice brought me back from my troubling thoughts, and so I shifted my attention back to my best friend, who seemed concerned for some reason. I searched through my brain for a clue to what he was accusing me of, but I came up empty. I hadn't purposely flirted with his girlfriend for ages, and I had not been hanging out at his apartment, eating all his food or hiding all his alcohol for the fun of it. I had been such a good boy lately, it was astounding and to be honest, a little out of character! Oh, perhaps it was because I was hanging around the hospital so much lately with Elena that I hardly found the time to even _attempt_ to get on Ric's nerves and he felt ignored. Damn needy high maintenance best friend!

"Fine, I get it, you missed me," I said, throwing my hands up in defeat. "I know I haven't been around much lately and you're feeling disregarded, but I promise I'll make time for you…starting tomorrow," I added, thinking that Elena would be discharged by then and back at home with the devil reincarnate. Until then, I'd spend every waking moment trying to convince her that black and blue weren't flattering colors on her perfectly tanned skin.

Seeing that I had less than twenty-two hours until discharge, I flashed a warm smile at the still puzzled-looking man and stood up to leave, but was halted in mid-action. "Sit your ass back down!" barked Ric. Okay, _that_ actually hurt my feelings. He hadn't raised his voice at me since the last time I stole his TV remote control to watch anything else except for Castle, which he absolutely _had_ to watch, all the while cheering on his favorite onscreen couple, Caskett. Sorry, but I had to roll my eyes at that. "This isn't about you being MIA for the past week – which we'll definitely talk about later – but about you giving presents to your case!"

I stared at him in confusion, my mouth gaping slightly at his accusation. Wait, did _he_ want a present too? Was that what all the fuss was about? Jeez, talk about being melodramatic! Honestly, sometimes I swear that Meredith's much less of a girl than Ric!

"Actually, I said a present, as in singular. Just the one; a teddy bear," Mer grinned broadly at me as she announced the nature of my gift. The traitor! She seemed to be awfully gleeful about it too, which was weird because she normally wasn't a morning person. I've stayed over at Ric's apartment enough times to make that conclusion.

"So I gave Elena a stuffed toy to cheer her up, so what? I gave a Raggedy Ann doll to Anna," I countered with a shrug, not exactly seeing a point to this good-cop, bad-cop routine of theirs. You'd think that I gave my loaded gun to Elena, judging from the disapproval radiating off of him. Also, I was about to argue that Elena was not _just_ a case, but a bright young lady who was stronger than anyone had given her credit for. Elena was…more.

"That's different! She's six!" Ric burst out before I could open my mouth.

"_How_ is that different?" I asked, perplexed as to why he was making such a big deal out of a toy. "Is there an age limit for when a person is ineligible to receive a toy? It's okay to give one to a six year old child, but not to an adult? That's an ageism, Ric."

Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Mer trying to hold back her laughter at our 'couple's fight' apparently about a soft toy, out of all things I've ever done, the worst of them mostly witnessed by my buddy.

"Look, I'm not discriminating against anyone and this _isn't_ about a toy, either. It's about you, acting in a professional capacity when dealing with your cases, and giving a cuddly little bear to an attractive woman who is currently under your care is _not_ professional," he explained in a quieter tone. "Don't even get me started on the fact that you've been spending most of your time here with her and refusing to leave the room when her _doctor_," he stressed, his head gesturing towards a sheepish Meredith, "asks you to. You're not supposed to be that involved with a case, you know that better than I do!"

"Elena's not a case!" I exclaimed defensively, somehow irritated that he kept referring to her as one. "She's been through Hell and back, Ric, so before you judge her to be simply one of the many victims of abuse, maybe you should spend some time getting to know her and try not to melt into her deep pools of browns filled with such pain and horror! She's barely an adult and _already_ she'd lost so much, starting with her parents' death! She's _so_ strong, much stronger than anyone I've ever met, you have _no_ idea."

Shaking his head, Ric refused to back down from his viewpoint. "Everyone has back stories, Damon, everyone. Sure, Elena's story is heartbreaking, but so were many others before her and there will be more _after_ her. It's your job to make sure that they get the help they need and for them to know where to go if they need help in the future, _regardless_ of their background. You're not supposed to hold their hand everyday and play board games with them!"

At this point, I was shooting deathly glares at the mole who came in the form of a petite brunette wearing a white lab coat. Pity there was no doctor-case-handler confidentiality agreement I could sue her over for completely selling me out! Besides, I didn't realize that she was keeping such a close watch on my activities with Elena. In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have held hands with my charge that much, or you know, hugged her in plain view of the entire pediatric wing, but she _needed_ me.

"All right, I'll give you that point, but in my defense, Elena was distressed and somehow I'd earned her trust enough that she felt comforted by my presence, so I guess my time spent with her paid off in the end," I conceded, but not before sending my point across in a final attempt. "But I get it, Ric. No more presents and games." Ha! I didn't mention anything about continuing to hold hands with her, if she needed me to. _Only_ if she needed me to , I reminded myself sternly.

To my amazement, Meredith agreed with me. "It's true, you know. Elena's much calmer when Damon's around and he even got her to smile and laugh at times, despite the circumstances that required her admittance into the hospital anyway. I think in some way, Damon being here actually speeds up her healing process because she's more relaxed and actually, him spending so much time with her during the day actually tired her out so she was able to sleep peacefully throughout the night without interruption. The nurses told me that her nightmares had also lessened significantly, so that's great," she told Ric, but I only focused on the part that I didn't know before.

"What? She's been having nightmares? About Lockwood?" I wondered aloud, now even more concerned about her psychological health, knowing that she was going to be living with him again. In the same house, on the same bed, behind closed doors where he could do goodness knows what else to her again without my knowledge. I didn't like it one bit.

"I would assume so, but I can't be sure. Didn't she tell you about them?"

I shook my head mutely, more than eager now for this whole discussion to be over so that I could be at Elena's side, hoping that I would be able to change her mind from returning to Lockwood. She could probably stay with Blondie in the mean time, while I try to find a place for her elsewhere. Yes, that _would_ have worked, except it didn't, as Meredith's next words send my world crashing to a standstill, and then exploding into pieces.

"Well, there's nothing any of us can do now…Elena's getting discharged today, so I have to prepare her discharge papers right now," she said, before making her way around her desk to sink into her chair, unaware that I had completely frozen in mine.

"Today? _Today_? I thought it was supposed to be tomorrow! What happened?" I screeched loudly, oblivious that my voice had gone several octaves higher than usual. I had counted on having just enough time to try to convince her to walk away from Lockwood, only to find out now that I didn't. All I had was an hour, two at the most before I risked losing her forever. No, I didn't mean it like that. I meant that the next time I see her, she _could_ be unconscious or worse, dead. My heart pinched sharply at the thought. Yeah, that was what I meant when I said that I could lose her. Of course it was.

"Elena asked me if she could go home earlier as she didn't want to burden Mason with unnecessary medical bills. She didn't have insurance, so he's paying every single cent out of his own pocket. I suppose she didn't want to further impose on him, financially," Meredith explained distractedly as she sifted through Elena's patient file.

Time was ticking and I had to go. _Pronto_.

I shot right out of my chair before Ric could stop me. "And why am I finding out about this _now_?" I muttered as I reached the closed door, my hand gripping the knob to turn it. Before that, I had to address one more thing to Ric. "If you had any doubts at all about Elena, _that_ right there is why I have to help her. That's the kind of person she is; considering the feelings and the wallet of the very man who sent her here in the first place. That's _why_ I needed her to trust me, so that she'll realize that she doesn't need him, that she has someone who cares about her, and that she has help if she needs it. I'm _all_ she has left," I threw that parting shot over my shoulders and left the room, closing the door behind me.

Before the door could fully close however, I heard something Ric said that shook me to my very core. "Our boy is _so_ whipped, can you tell? He's so completely blinded by protecting Elena that he can't see the fact that she's extremely vulnerable right now and that's why she's clinging onto him. Whether she knows it or not, she'll be comparing Damon to Lockwood, one causing her pain and the other supporting her emotionally through it. She'll lean heavily on Damon to pull her through _this_ time, but she'll go back to her boyfriend in the end because she still loves him. The victims always do. If he had not allowed himself to get too emotionally invested in this case, then he would have seen it coming. It's a classic rookie mistake and he should have realized that. I'm just worried that he'll get hurt in the process when he realizes that he _can't_ save her, you know? Not if she doesn't _want_ to be saved, even by him. Damon has got to take a step back and establish a line that he shouldn't cross with her or he's going to let his heart get in the way of his own rescue mission."

Shit. For once, Ric was right. Still…. shit.

* * *

I made my way back the familiar route to Elena's room in deep thought about what I had overheard and didn't even realize that I was already halfway inside the room until I saw a scene that would forever be seared inside my brain, and not in a good way.

Lockwood was there. With Elena. _Kissing_ Elena. Kissing a _topless_ Elena, an Elena who had on a pair of skintight jeans that hugged all her womanly curves and a black camisole, one that accentuated her best assets other than her eyes and hair. That was _all_ she was wearing. I would rather find her in that shapeless dreary hospital gown I had grown accustomed to seeing her in than the regular clothes that further enhanced her attractiveness by one thousand fold. Belatedly, I realized that she had a cardigan half-worn around her wrists, so she must have been in the midst of getting dressed before that monster interrupted her with an attack on her lips!

Briefly, I considered a hand-to-hand combat; the satisfaction of seeing Lockwood's shocked expression before I tore his face out with my bare hands would have been worth it, but I reigned in my rage at finding him that way with _my_ charge. I had to respect Elena's privacy – I know, a little too late for that, but let's just assume that I had learnt my lesson at not crossing invisible lines – so, I hastily retreated back out into the hallway and closed the door behind me softly, relieved that I managed it without gaining the attention of the couple within.

I tried to walk away, really, I did, but I found myself rapping my knuckles a tad too hard against the cold glass of her door, alerting them that it was time for their lips to part. _Far_ apart. I heard some scuffling sounds and a masculine chuckle and then her muffled admonishment, followed by a soft "Come in."

I responded immediately, pushing the door open and made sure that it _stayed_ wide open before I marched in, hoping that my face was arranged in a cool and nonchalant expression as supposed to the growling, snarling one with a mouthful of fangs I imagined in my head. "Oh great, Lockwood, you're here," I heard myself saying in a fake pleasant voice that sounded hollow even to my own ears. "Dr. Fell wants to see you in her office to discuss about Elena's follow-up schedule and get the discharged paper processed."

Okay, maybe I lied a little to get Lockwood out of the way, but it must be what he was expecting to hear, because he just nodded his acknowledgement and turned his attention back to Elena, telling her that he would be right back. He flicked an annoyed gaze at my direction before he headed out to locate Mer's office. Gosh, I hoped that he wouldn't walk in to find a freaky-deaky kinky session on her desk rather than the professional one I just left behind. I made a mental note to ask Ric about it some other time.

Knowing that I only had a small window of time left to spend with Elena, I hurried over to her, noting with relief that she was fully covered now, cardigan in place and lips free of a monster attached. "Hey, do you want to go for a walk?" I asked, keeping my hands clasped tightly behind me to refrain from holding it out for her to take it.

"A walk? I thought I'm getting discharged now," she seemed to be confused over my invitation.

"It's just a quick walk around the grounds. Besides, the discharge procedure is going to take a while. Lockwood still have to collect your prescription from the Pharmacy and then meet with the Accounts Department to settle your bills," I declared, hoping that my explanation was logical enough to convince her.

"_Outside_?! With sun, wind, trees, grass and oxygen?" she clarified with an excited gleam in her eyes. She hadn't been out of the hospital since she had been admitted, so I was certain the idea of being able to soak up some rays and breathe in some fresh air would be appealing to her. "Let's go!"

Together, we made our way to the ground level after leaving word at the nurse station, and Elena's demeanor was noticeably more cheerful as soon as we were out in the open. I watched closely as she kicked her sandals off and twirled around on the grassy patch, her expression childlike and carefree. With the sun shining down against her cascading brown locks, a gentle breeze blowing through them, the sight of her radiant smile prompted my next question.

"Elena, I know you've decided to go home with Lockwood, but can you at least think about staying with Blo – with Caroline first?" A part of me instantly regretted saying anything the moment her face fell, the joviality erased from her features, but it was my only chance to change her mind. I had to try, for the sake of my sanity and for what could possibly be her life; I had to be the voice of reason especially after being in a bubble of avoidance the previous week.

She hesitated at first and then raised carefully emotionless eyes to mine, and I braced myself to listen to her denial of the situation. "Damon, he's my boyfriend and I….I-I love him. He's not the monster you and Care make him out to be, you know?" she paused as if searching for the right words to convince me not to worry over her. "He loves me and whatever happened between us, it wasn't on purpose and it _wasn't_ an everyday occurrence. He promised to try to work on his anger issues, and I promised that I'd be there to support him, and that's _exactly_ what I'll do. Please, don't worry about me. I'll be fine. I can take care of myself," her half-hearted not-quite-reassuring smile did nothing to quell my concern for her, so despite my recent undertake to maintain a level of professionalism, my survival instincts got the better of me. Or rather, my survival instincts for _her_ got the better of me.

I took both of us by surprise when I suddenly swirled her around and slammed her hard against my chest, her back to me and my arms criss-crossed over hers, locking her wrists in my tight grip. She stood frozen for a moment, her head turning to the side to gaze up at me, her eyes wide with bewilderment. As I gazed right back at her, I couldn't help but to notice how close our heads were, next to each other, our parted lips mere inches apart. It would be too easy to lean down and take what was being offered as she remained unmoving in my arms, but I forced myself to remember that there was a reason for our bodies' proximity. It got a whole of a lot tougher to remind myself of that when her eyes shifted down to my lips momentarily and then her pink tongue slipped out to wet her own.

Damn Ric and his imaginary uncross-able lines!

"Fight, Elena!" my command sounded more gruff than I intended.

"Wh-what?" she asked, surprised at my request.

"I'm not _hugging_ you; I'm attacking you, so fight me off!" I instructed, and then I found myself in the depths of hell when she started squirming, her body writhing provocatively against the entire length of my body, soft versus hard. No prizes for guessing which one I was. "Don't be afraid to hurt me. Just try your best to push me away," I bit out, mentally cursing myself for my bright idea, especially when she doubled her efforts to struggle out of my grasp.

"I can't…you're too strong," she gasped and grunted while her arms twisted and turned under mine.

Desperate to break my concentration on how her wriggling body felt against mine, I glanced around us to find curious glances from other patients and visitors who seemed unsure whether to rush to the defense of a poor helpless girl being attacked by a ridiculously handsome guy in broad daylight and in the middle of a hospital ground.

"Elena, people are about to call the cops on me, so I suggest you try to find my weakness so that y-" I warned, but she unexpectedly slumped back against me, her head lolling on my shoulder with her eyes closed.

"My chest…I can't breathe," she muttered breathlessly, sending me into a panic mode as I hurriedly released her and set her down on the ground. Her eyes popped open and the next thing I know, she was on her feet and smiling broadly down at me, her expression triumphant. "Haha, I did it! I found your weakness! I made you let go!" she announced in a sing-song voice, looking mighty pleased with herself at her trick. Okay, I was reluctantly impressed with her quick thinking, but then again, I always thought that she was a smart woman, but not when it came to staying in an abusive relationship. Also, it was disturbing how she instinctively knew that _she_ was my weakness. Had I been so damn obvious that the whole world could see it?

"Not fair, you cheated!" I whined and pouted, hoping that she wouldn't notice the direction my thoughts had taken, along with my body's reaction to our…umm…rubbing motions. "You tricked me into letting you go!"

"Errmmm, _yeah_, because you cheated first by taking me by surprise!" she argued back, looking very much like a rebellious teenager.

"Yeah, as if an attacker would warn you first before he grabbed you. It's called the _element_ of surprise!" Cue eye-rolling.

To my surprise, she gave me her own version of an eye-roll that could rival my own as she declared, "Yes, and instead of fighting a losing battle, I feigned being hurt and made you let go, so I won! Besides, I knew that you wouldn't hurt me." Her last admission rang true and we both knew it. Of course I would never hurt her, not intentionally and not accidentally, either.

"You're really okay, though?" I asked, wondering if her shortness of breath was real or if she was _that_ good an actress. To my relief, she nodded and grinned.

"Can you teach me some other tricks? A self-defense tutorial of some sort?" she added eagerly as she came to stand right in front of me. I considered for a second and then decided that if she insisted to go home with Lockwood, she might as well learn how to defend herself. At least that would give her a fighting chance to get away since he was much bigger than even me. I had muscles, but they're the lean kind of muscles; didn't mean I couldn't take him in a fight, though.

I grabbed one of her hands and placed it on my chest, pressing her palm flat over my thin shirt before moving it lower. "Do you feel this? There's a lump right in the intersection where my two rib cage meets, can you feel that?" She nodded wordlessly, all traces of humor gone from her expression. She seemed to be distracted by the fact that her hands were touching my body and it took every ounce of control I had left to focus on the lesson. "That's where my solar plexus is located. It's a cluster of nerve cells and tissues, extremely sensitive and if properly targeted and hit with a certain force, you can incapacitate your attacker and send him to his knees. Not only will he be in great pain, but you'll also temporary stop his breathing as his lungs spasm. Hit it hard enough and at a forty-five degree angle with your knuckles and it's lights out for a couple of minutes, giving you time to run, got it?"

Elena nodded again and then repeated, "Hit hard at forty-five degree angle with my knuckles, got it. You mean like this?" Before I could see it coming, her small fist connected right smack in the pit of my stomach and I was seeing stars. I felt like one of those cartoon characters that got hit by a ton of weight only to wake up with a few Tweety Birds flying around its head in circles. I was on the floor, in massive amount of pain and unable to breathe. My mouth gaped open to suck in oxygen but there was nothing. I experienced a moment of panic at the thought of dying in such a manner before I could save Elena who was leaning over me, worried out of her mind.

"Oh God, Damon! Is this a trick? Please be joking! I-Ididn't mean to hit you so hard, I'm sorry!" she exclaimed anxiously, her hands cold against my skin as she grabbed my head to rest on her lap. "What do I do? What do I do? Help! Help! He can't breathe!" she screamed to strangers around her but no one came, at least none that I could see from my peripheral vision. I was also too busy freaking out over the lack of oxygen in my system.

"I-I need to perform mouth-to-mouth resuscitation! Oh God, I have to-to, oh hell!" she muttered to herself and then I watched helplessly as she took a deep breath before her head descended to mine. I shook my head and prayed to all the gods in the universe that she wouldn't go through with it; I didn't know if I was able to handle it if I felt her lips wrapped around mine, and also, it wouldn't work anyway. My lungs couldn't expand, so it wouldn't help one bit. I knew enough about a blow to the solar plexus from reading about it on the Internet to expect it to be over soon. In theory, my lungs would spasm for about a minute or two, though it certainly felt much longer than that in reality, and then I would be able to breathe normally again. The aim was just to be alive until then.

Just as her lips grazed mine, I managed to draw in a much-needed breath, so I hastily pushed her aside so that I could sit up and gulped in air, coughing as I did. Vaguely, I felt her arms wrapped around my shoulders and cuddled my head against her chest, her heartbeat racing under that black camisole of hers. "Thank God, oh thank God!" she kept repeating and then in a matter of minutes, I had all my faculties back in working condition.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," I mumbled into her chest and forced my head up to look into her fearful and tear-filled eyes. Great, now I made her cry!

"Elena!" an angry masculine voice reached us from afar, and simultaneously, we both straightened up and turned towards the sound. A scowling Mason Lockwood was marching over to us, no doubt having witnessed our _almost_ embrace on the ground. "I've been looking all over for you! The nurses told me where you might be. What's going on?" his upset gaze sliding suspiciously from hers to mine and back again.

Elena jumped guiltily to her feet and after a moment's hesitation, reached out to pull me to mine and then brushed dirt off my shirt as a result of my unplanned roll on the floor. "Damon was just showing me how to throw a punch and then I did it to him but suddenly he couldn't breathe and I was so scared that I had killed him! Then he _could_ breathe again and that's when you showed up," she explained, averting her eyes from mine as she edited her story to seem completely innocent. I didn't contradict her because I was still recovering from the whole ordeal and also reeling from our almost-kiss that shouldn't have happened in the first place.

"Well, come on then! You're discharged and we still need to go back to your room to collect your stuff," the monster informed her and tugged at her hand back towards the building without even so much as a 'I'm-sorry-you-almost-died' glance at me. I watched them go with a heavy heart, studying Elena's back as she struggled against his firm grip on her upper arm as she was being pulled along. Then she turned back to me, her sad and helpless eyes meeting and holding mine all the way until they disappeared into the lift lobby, leaving me staring at a blank wall.

Ric was absolutely right; I _had_ let myself get too close to Elena. I cared more than I wanted to admit and it's scaring the hell out of me judging by my reaction to her being gone. I felt the now familiar feeling of breathlessness but this time, it was accompanied by a painful twist of my heart. In some ways, this sensation that I was experiencing was much worse than being punched repeatedly on my solar plexus. I would take that a dozen times over with a smile on my face rather than the powerless feeling of being unable to play the hero to my heroine.

I had no choice. I had to let her go. The villain had won the battle this round, but there was no way that I was going to let him win this war. I just prayed that by the time I see her again, it won't be too late. I wasn't about to bury _another_ body, not if I can help it.

Almost as an automatic response to her absence, I lifted a finger to trace my upper lip, the part where her lips touched mine earlier. It was still tingling.

* * *

_Elena's POV_

I wasn't ready to leave yet.

I was ready to leave the hospital, but I was nowhere _near_ ready to leave Damon. Especially after he just barely recovered from my unforeseen attack. I didn't mean to hurt him, and I certainly didn't expect that I even _could_ hurt him. He seemed so heartbroken when Mason was pulling me away from the garden, as if he was unwilling to let me go. I knew he was worried about me, but I didn't want him to be. You spend an entire week with someone on a daily basis, for hours at a time and you begin to notice things about them.

I could tell that there was more to the story of Damon's desire to protect abuse victims. It went deeper than that. Every time I looked into his pale blue eyes, I could tell that he genuinely cared about what happens to me, and his protectiveness wasn't about him doing his job as a social worker. No, it went beyond that. It was as if he made it his personal mission to make sure that I didn't go through what I went through with Mason before I ended up in the hospital. Sure, Damon usually clowned around me and Caroline and sometimes Dr. Fell too, but underneath his sarcastic, snarky sense of humor, there was a hint of sadness and pain that ran deep inside him and it was what I saw in his eyes when Mason tugged me along behind him.

I wanted more time to dig deeper and see if he would share his story with me, since I sensed that he didn't _just_ become a social worker to help abuse victims. He had a past, a dark one perhaps and it was why he wanted to save people like myself and Anna.

Anna, the six-year old little girl with the face of an angel and the life of a living hell. I had to see her again before I left the hospital, so I told Mason that I had someone I had to say goodbye to, and to my surprise, he insisted on going with me. I knew that he was unhappy about my newfound friendship with Damon and probably thought that I wanted to see him again, therefore he seemed genuinely shocked when I led him over to the pediatric wing.

We entered the same cheerful and brightly colored room and found Anna on her bed this time with her ginger-head doll right beside her. I motioned for Mason to wait by the low round table we were seated around the last time as I made my way to her bed. My heart squeezed painfully again at the thought of anyone sick enough to harm an innocent child like Anna.

Her blue-green eyes flew open when I approached her side, and she simply laid there staring at me for a long while, as if she was trying to place my face among the people she'd met. I was relieved beyond belief when she smiled a little, a sign that she recognized me and was permitting me to stay.

"Hi Anna," I breathed out softly so as not to scare her off. "I came to tell you that I'm going home now. My doctor discharged me so I don't need to stay here any longer. But don't worry, I'll come back to visit you often, okay?" Not surprisingly, she didn't even give an indication that she had heard me, let alone responded, but I still hoped anyway.

Anna hid half her face behind her doll, preferring to instead peek up at me with one eye but then she unexpectedly turned to look at Mason who seemed impatient to leave. She turned right back to me expectantly and I instinctively knew what her unspoken question was. She was wondering who Mason was.

"That's Mason. He's my boyfriend and I'm going home with him. Can you wave a hello to him?" She shifted her attention back to him and just when I thought that she would shout out a 'Hello' to Mason, she hid her face behind the doll again, a tiny frown on her face.

"Elena, will you hurry up? You're wasting your time with her! She's not even going to respond to you," Mason spoke, not even bothering to lower his voice to avoid being heard by the little girl. "Just quickly say your goodbyes and I'll wait for you at the car, 'kay?" As soon as he was out of the room, I visibly relaxed and I think, so did Anna.

"He's right, we _do_ have to go, but I wanted to give you a goodbye hug before that. Will that be okay, Anna?" I asked gently, and stretched my arms wide, indicating that she should close the distance and put her arms around me. She did even better; she placed her doll in my embrace, and to be honest, it was very adorable when she did, but then _she_ embraced her doll instead, effectively hugging me too in the process. I almost whooped with joy but what happened after that shocked me so much that it rendered me speechless.

"Mason, bad man," Anna whispered as she detached herself from me and went back to closing her eyes as she lied back down on her bed. All I could do was to stare at her, unable to believe my ears. She spoke! She finally spoke! Damon told me that she hadn't spoken at all since her attack, but here she was, speaking! To _me,_ of all people!

I was too busy being distracted to really take note of what she just said about Mason, but in hindsight, I wished that I had heed her warning.

I should have listened to the six-year old girl who broke her silence to warn me against the man who would later break _me_.

* * *

**Thanks, Kristi (tukct81) for doing an awesome job as my beta and friend. Her story "Neverending Progress" is ending (despite the title, go figure!) and it's a wonderful story. Also to Sana for being my publicist by promoting this story on her tumblr. I never knew that a water container could hold advertisements! Shout out to Kelsey for being online again! I'm also waving "HI" to Carol, my go-to nurse and K for sharing her personal story with me! **

**As for my other regular readers/reviewers: "I Feel So Close to You Right Now, It's A Force Field" :D Thank you for reviewing :P **


	5. Chapter 5

**So, I'm halfway through the story already and I'm still crawling at a snail's pace. Who thinks that I can be done in 10 chapters? *pause* Anybody? **_**Nobody**_**? Right. Time to kick this up a notch, don't ya think?**

* * *

**A Woman's Worth: Chapter Five**

_Elena's POV_

"What's the deal with you and that Salvatore guy?"

The question startled me from my preoccupation of staring out the window for the last ten minutes in complete silence. Mason and I were in his car on our way back home from the hospital, neither of us in the mood to talk until his voice suddenly broke through the moment of peace, the only sound being the purr of his engine until now.

"Nothing, we're just friends, that's all," I replied carefully as I turned my head towards him. His lips were pressed into a hard line and a frown appeared on his forehead at my assessment of my newfound relationship with the man in question.

"You've known the guy for a week and now you're 'friends'?" Mason scoffed, shaking his head at me as if I was a young, naïve child who didn't know any better. Alright, maybe he had a point there in terms of the time frame to really know someone enough to consider them as friends, but I didn't get a bad vibe when I was around him. "I don't know what it is about him but I just don't trust the guy," he went on.

Of course not; he was accusing you of physically abusing me and wanted me to leave you. And, he taught me to throw a punch at your solar plexus so that you'd roll around on the ground a lot. "Why would you? You hardly even spoke two words to the guy," I said instead, preferring to ignore the fact that the feeling was mutual for Damon as well.

"And I don't need to talk to him to know that _you_ shouldn't trust him either. What have you told him about what happened between us, huh? Did he ask?" His tone was suspicious as he threw a sideways glance at me, checking my reaction.

I shook my head hastily to put him at ease; I didn't want to create a scene after things were just getting back to normal again, especially within the confines of a moving vehicle. I didn't know why I was still feeling apprehensive about Mason and about our situation. I felt like I was walking on egg shells around him, waiting for him to lash out again. Then I reminded myself that he promised not to lose control like that again. He _promised_.

"He _did_ ask but I didn't tell him anything. I mean, there was nothing to tell, right? It was an accident and you didn't mean to hurt me." It wasn't a question but more like a statement, one that I kept repeating to myself over and over again since my chest met the sharp edge of the console table. But saying it out loud _then_, somehow it didn't sound as convincing as it did in my head, but it apparently rang true for Mason.

"Yes, it _was_ an accident and I'm glad that you've realized that," Mason agreed with a look of relief, reaching over to give my hand a quick squeeze before placing it back on the steering wheel. For a moment, I was completely distracted by my body's reaction to his brief touch; it was as if every nerve on my fingers was rejecting him and was about to fling his hand away when he lifted it. I didn't understand it, but I didn't have time to dwell on the possible reasons because he had continued talking while I was busy being distracted.

"….enough to know that he's bad news and that's why I think it's best if you never saw him again."

What? I didn't have to catch the beginning of that sentence to know that he was referring to Damon, but the thought of not seeing him again…it didn't sit well with me. He was the one who managed to lift my spirits and made me laugh while I was bedridden in the hospital. It was so easy with him, as if I'd known him for years rather than a week or so in reality. He was also the one who gave me the bear I was cuddling in my arms; Mr. Cuddles. I gazed down at the adorable stuffed toy and smiled to myself. It was amazing how much comfort and joy a little toy gave me, especially during the nights I would wake up from troubling dreams. He was my security blanket – of course I was talking about the bear, not…Damon.

Damon. Even thinking of his name made me warm up on the inside. I had come to expect his daily presence in my hospital room and actually found myself looking forward to it. He would appear at my doorway with a lopsided grin, and his crystal clear blue eyes would light up when he saw me every morning. Sometimes, Caroline would spend a few hours with us, laughing and playing silly childish board games, but other times, it would just be the two of us and we'd talk about anything under the sun. Anything, except for really personal stuff like his background and also, Mason. So, to think about not having that sort of bond and friendship again…I guess it was inevitable. I mean, I didn't even have his contact number.

"Yeah, I don't think I _will_ see him again. He probably has other cases to attend to anyway," I said dully, shrugging my shoulders for emphasis that I didn't care either way, even if I did. Other than Caroline and Tyler, Damon had become my friend who was able to make me feel better about myself. I felt a twinge of loss when I realized that I would probably never see him again.

"Good, and while we're on the subject, I don't want you to see Caroline anymore, either. She's too much of a busybody, always insisting on sticking her nose in our business, and frankly I just can't stand her," Mason complained, much to my disappointment.

Fine, he had every right to expect me not to see Damon after witnessing our almost-embrace earlier, but to deny me my right to see my best friend? That was over the line! "Mason, you can't stop me from seeing Care, not when we're taking the same classes together and go to the same college. Besides, she saved my life, in case you've forgotten," I added indignantly, unable to believe my ears and his audacity to ban my only best friend from my life.

"How could I forget when she constantly reminds me of it _every_ fucking day?" he bit out bitterly, his bad mood returning with a vengeance. "Whatever it is, Elena, go make a new friend - one that I'd approve."

Biting my tongue from a choice of snarky retorts, I returned my attention to the window, gripping Mr. Cuddles tightly as I stared unseeingly at the passing scenery.

* * *

Life went pretty much back to normal for the next few weeks at home. Well, _normal_ as in fewer arguments, especially of the flying-off-into-rage variety. During the day, Mason would go to work while I resumed my classes and I'd stay home, worked on my assignments and keeping the house orderly while waiting for Mason to come home. When he does, we'd talk about any mundane matters we could think of _except_ for the event that transpired on the evening of Caroline's birthday and the days I spent at Mystic Falls General that followed. We both pretended as if it never even happened.

To be fair, Mason was trying his best to be more patient as he kept to his promise to avoid alcohol altogether, while _I _tried to maintain peace by avoiding any mention of the two names that were constantly on my mind. I couldn't do anything about keeping in touch with Damon, but I really missed Caroline, to be honest. Sure, I'd see her during classes during the day and at times, I would humor her and have the occasional lunch with her and Ty. It was a conscious decision to pull back a little from her company, especially knowing that Tyler might inform Mason about how much time I had been spending with them after he made his feelings about Caroline very clear in the car that day. Mostly, I just wanted to avoid anything that could cause him to be angry at me again.

Which was why I was stunned and a little apprehensive when she caught up to me after our last class on a Friday, linking her arm through mine as she flashed a beaming smile at me, her code for 'I've-got-a-huge-surprise-that-you-may-or-may-not-like'. I've known her long enough to expect the latter when it comes to her surprises.

"I know you're probably super busy being a Stepford housewife to that monster you live with, but I'm kidnapping you today," Caroline declared in her usual jovial manner, firmly steering me towards the side entrance of the campus.

Knowing that my efforts were probably futile, I had to put up a fight anyway. "Care, I can't do lunch today. I need to get home and do some laundry and update my grocery list," I protested weakly, not looking forward to another afternoon of dodging her incessant questions about Mason and his 'twitchy palms'. By the way, that was how I found out about her latest obsession; Christian Grey, Fifty and Shady, or whatever the hell the books were called. Apparently, it was the latest craze that was taking the world by storm, one violent sex scene at a time. As for me, I wasn't the sort to read a story about some old tycoon who gets his jollies by beating the crap out of women more than half his age, at least from what I could tell of the title. I was strictly against any form of causing deliberate pain to women, even fictional ones.

"Oh God, Elena, since when did you get to be so boring?" my blonde friend questioned, rolling her eyes at me. _Was_ I boring? I didn't even realize that I was. I guessed I just had enough excitement in my life to last me a lifetime. I _liked_ boring; it was safer that way. "Come on, live a little! After all, you _almost_ died over a month ago. You'd think that you would appreciate a little passion, a little adventure, and maybe even a little danger. Live on the edge…have lunch with us!"

Wait, what? "_Us_? Tyler's here?" I asked, looking around for her boyfriend to appear out of thin air as she dragged me towards the other end of the car park, where an unfamiliar car was waiting with its engine running.

"Not Tyler, but someone else who has been anxious to see you again," she said cryptically, and then I watched as the driver's side of the door opened, and out stepped the man whom I thought I'd never see again.

Damon.

Damon! He looked dashingly handsome, all decked out in his signature black shirt and jeans, with that perfectly fitted leather jacket adding to his already oozing sex appeal. I missed him, more than I cared to admit, but seeing him there, in the flesh, smiling broadly at me with a little twinkle in his eyes, I decided that Caroline was right; passion, adventure and a little danger was _exactly_ what I needed right then.

Feeling a thousand times lighter than I ever felt before, I ran towards him.

* * *

_Damon's POV_

I must have been wearing a stupid grin on my face, but I didn't care because Elena was running towards me. Me! An enormous weight had been lifted off my shoulders the moment I saw her with my own eyes, knowing that she was safe, and unhurt.

I had been worried sick about her the moment she disappeared from my sight at the hospital and it took me some time to stop pacing the length of my room, or Ric's living room, or Elijah's, waiting for news about her. Every time the phone rang, I jumped about a mile high, expecting to receive that dreaded phone call to inform me that she was hurt again or worse, dead. I was constantly hounding Elijah, calling him every so often if he had heard anything about Elena or Lockwood until he suggested that I asked her myself.

I couldn't call her because we never _did_ exchange numbers, but I remembered that Blondie had left her contact with the hospital in case of emergencies, so I did some recon at Meredith's office. Okay, that was a fancy way of saying that I broke into her filing cabinet and pulled Elena's patient file out to get the number, but the point was that I finally had the means to find out how she was doing. So I called Blondie. Man, I had almost forgotten how the girl could talk my ear off, but finally, I got my answer; Elena was fine. She was spending less time with Blondie outside of college, but still, she was living, breathing and walking. After swearing her to secrecy about our phone conversation, I thanked her and hung up. Elena being safe was _all_ I had to know.

Until a couple of days later. A _lot_ could have happened in two days, and I had to satisfy my curiosity all over again, so I dialed Blondie's number again. Then again. And again. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I wondered if Blondie had the wrong idea, that I was calling her to ask about Elena so often because I was secretly interested in _her_, but luckily, the blonde was only too happy to gossip about her friend. Turned out, she was as worried about Elena as I was, and since she couldn't talk about it with her own boyfriend - who got uptight and defensive whenever she even broached the subject of Mason and Elena - she was glad to be able to confide in me. In fact, _she_ was the one who suggested this meeting, as a surprise for Elena, and I was only too happy to go along with her plan, as brilliant as all plans go.

So, there I was, standing beside my car, dressed to impress, waiting for the girl who had been in my mind every second of every day to hurtle into my arms as if we were long lost lovers, when I suddenly remembered the stupid, idiotic, uncross-able line that I wasn't supposed to cross with my 'charge'. So, just as she came within a foot from me, instead of opening my arms wide for a hug, I went for a handshake instead, which got her confused for a moment. We stood closely, awkwardly alternating between a handshake and an embrace and then I just decided to throw caution to the wind and leaned in with a light friendly peck on her cheek.

When I drew back, she was blushing all over and I wondered if I was as red as she was, judging from the heat that rose to my face. "Hey, beautiful stranger," I greeted softly, taking her in fully for the first time in weeks. She seemed different and yet the same. What was different was that she had color on her cheeks and she was even more beautiful than I remembered. She was still the same in the sense that she was still as thin and fragile looking as when I first met her. Well, at least she wasn't lying unconscious in a hospital somewhere.

"Damon," she breathed huskily, sending my carefully controlled emotions running wild. She seemed genuinely pleased to see me, and that was _something_, right? Perhaps she missed me, too. I wondered if she ever thought of me at all during the past few weeks. No, probably not. Why _would_ she? "I've missed you," she said with a soft smile, and just like that, I was floored. Elena Gilbert freaking missed me! In. Your. Face, Lockwood!

"Me, too," I responded, feeling the burn in my cheeks as I kept grinning. My facial muscles were getting one heck of a workout but she just made me so ridiculously happy. And then another voice just snapped me out of the happy bubble I was in.

"Yay, me three! Glad that we're all back together again, like the Three Musketeers," Blondie chimed in as she wrapped me and Elena in an enthusiastic group hug. Three Musketeers? More like Three Stooges! I was just standing there awkwardly because of two reasons; first of all, I hadn't hugged _Blondie_ before, and secondly, it brought Elena _that_ much closer to me, with her arm around my waist and her scent invading my senses. I was already trying valiantly to maintain my professionalism with her, but now, with her body pressed to mine, and our arms around each other, it was all too much.

"Umm, let's all go for lunch, shall we?" I asked and quickly stepped back to reenter the driver side of my car, waiting for the girls to follow suit. As much as I would have liked to have some one-on-one time with Elena, I insisted that Blondie came along to act as chaperone because I didn't trust myself with her alone. The bond that we made during those one and a half weeks at the hospital was stronger than ever and that was precisely the problem. According to Ric, I had to care about her from afar. I knew it, my brain knew it, now I just had to convince my heart.

"I call shotgun!" Blondie yelled out and proceeded to skip and hop into the seat next to me, leaving Elena to take the back. Heaving a sigh of relief, I relaxed slightly and pulled out of the parking lot. I snuck numerous glimpses at the backseat, and at times, even meeting a pair of nervous brown eyes via the rearview mirror the entire journey as we headed to a quaint little family restaurant named 'Tony's' located at the edge of town.

By the time I pulled into a car park right in front of the restaurant, I had already memorized the shape and color of Elena's doe-like eyes. I don't remember it being that sizzling, our unexplainable connection during her stay at the hospital, but after a long time apart, it seemed to have grown exponentially to be not merely sizzling, but explosive. Crap, it didn't help to be confined in such a tight space either.

Hastily, I killed the engine and made a quick exit out of the car and made a beeline for the entrance of the restaurant, but the minute I walked in, I immediately regretted my choice of venue. The interior was dark with romantic lights with an old-fashioned jukebox at a corner that was playing some mood music, exactly the kind of place one would bring a girl to on a first date. I muttered a silent thank-you for Blondie's presence in an otherwise awkward situation I had somehow found myself in.

I waited until the girls had taken their seats opposite one another before I chose to take my place beside Blondie as Elena looked on with a puzzled expression. I watched her attempt to cover her disappointment by placing her bag on the empty chair beside her and then immediately burying her face behind the menu.

Okay, so it had suddenly become awkward between us, when it had been so easy and comfortable before. It was like I didn't even know how to talk to her anymore. What changed, I wondered. Oh, right; my stupid inappropriate crush on my charge. It was getting a bit too much, becoming a hassle to even start a decent conversation with her. I struggled to find a safe topic to start with, but I came up empty. Luckily, though, Elena saved the day.

"Oh right, I forgot to tell you that little Anna spoke to me," she said suddenly, her bright eyes peering over the top of the menu at me. My jaw must have dropped wide open or did some silly reaction because she giggled before she added, "Before I left the hospital, I went to say goodbye to her and gave her a hug, and then she talked!"

"You're kidding! What did she say?" I asked eagerly, my previous struggle with her disappearing completely following this latest development.

I didn't expect my question to stump her, but it did, causing her to frown slightly as if she had trouble recalling what a six-year old girl who hadn't spoken in months to suddenly start talking again. I spent so much time with Anna over a course of several months, even bought a scary redheaded doll for her, and I didn't even get so much as a peep out of her. Instead, my charge, who had seen the girl all of two times, had managed to charm Anna to the point where she started communicating? That was definitely the power of one Elena Gilbert.

"She said something about Mason, but I can't really remember what it was because I was too excited with the fact that she was talking again. That's a good breakthrough, right?" she asked, and I wasn't entirely sure if she was being intentionally vague or if she _really_ was too distracted to hear properly. Either way, it _was_ a major breakthrough and I was glad that it had happened on Elena's watch. A victim of abuse, choosing to connect with another…it had to have a positive effect, right?

The topic of Anna was exactly the ice-breaker that we needed to err…break the ice, so to speak. The rest of the lunch passed by smoothly after that, with Blondie joining in and contributing to the more comfortable atmosphere we had going on, like we had at the hospital. To anyone who was watching, we were just three friends who got along swimmingly, chatting and laughing about various topics while sharing a meal, but I was the only person who was aware that I was falling in love with one of them, and it was the _one_ girl that I couldn't have.

* * * _Abuse is a form of bullying_ * * *

We kept in touch after that first post-hospital 'date'. By the end of that highly enjoyable lunch, I had Elena's number and she had mine, so after a couple of days of practicing extreme self-control and trying to hold off from dialing her number, I gave in under the heading of 'concerned social worker'. What? I had a legitimate excuse – no, I had a legitimate _reason_ for wanting to check up on her, since she _was_ my charge and she was also, you know, pretty amazing, so I called her.

And we talked. It was epic.

In a way, it was a relief that I could have a one-on-one conversation with her without Blondie on another line, acting as a buffer because we connected on an even deeper level that way. No, we didn't have any phone sex or anything naughty like that; we just talked, about our hobbies, our family, our childhood – well, hers anyway, because I didn't really want to dredge up my past.

And then the next day, I was concerned again, so I texted her, and she replied, and then we had an amazing text messaging session instead. Over the course of the next two weeks, we had exchanged many phone calls and SMSes, even e-mails. I found myself constantly smiling like an idiot at my phone wherever I went, and also made the discovery that my iPhone battery didn't last as long as it used to. That was why I got into the habit of carrying around a charger with me; so that I would be ever ready for another one of our bonding sessions.

Our bonding wasn't limited to just mobile phone connections, though as we planned several outings together, with Blondie, of course. Only with Blondie around would I dare to meet Elena face-to-face. Otherwise, I'd probably stare at her a lot and drool. Or wrap my arms around her and never wanting to let go again. Or all of the above. She just brings out this protective _and_ possessive side of me all the time.

The latest outing that we three went on was a visit to the hospital to see Anna. I had been visiting her on my own as often as I could, but of course, it wasn't as fun as when I had the two girls with me. It was always better when my dialogues aren't so one-sided, and so I appreciated the giggles in response to my jokes or the back-and-forth teasing when the girls sided with Anna to gang up against me. Being bullied by three girls has never been more enthusiastically received.

Even though Anna had been smiling and giggling throughout our visit, she never uttered a single word to us. I did notice, however, that she seemed to gravitate towards Elena more than even me. I supposed it was something the little girl could sense about Elena, a fellow victim of abuse just like her. It was adorable to see because Anna needed someone to look up to, and having Elena around would only help rather than to hinder.

As the three of us left the hospital, I offered to drive Elena home just to be polite, you know, but Caroline insisted to drive her, so I allowed it…._this_ time. It didn't stop me from texting her all the way during the drive to meet Tweedle-Dee aka Elijah for some coffee. I didn't think that I'd ever wipe the ridiculously wide grin on my face until I received a phone call from the last person I expected to call with these dreaded words: "Elena's in trouble. There's been a murder. Hurry!"

* * *

_Elena's POV_

I knew the instant that I reached home that something was wrong - _very_ wrong. I didn't know how to explain it but there was a weird vibe that I got. It could be my gut instinct sending warning bells to me or it _could_ be a supernatural presence, the kind that makes your hair stand on ends, though I doubted that. The main thing that set me off was Mason's car out front. He was rarely home from work this early and it wasn't even after working hours yet. I was certain because I always made sure that I got home first before he does.

The house was quiet, _too_ quiet, when I entered and I crept upstairs noiselessly in case Mason wasn't feeling well and was sound asleep in bed. The door to our room was closed, so I cautiously turned the knob and twisted it until the catch was released. When the door swung open, my heart thudded with fear when I saw his still figure sitting on the edge of a messy bed with a crumpled piece of paper in his hand. The room was a mess; paper bags and books strewn everywhere, pillows flung haphazardly, and the corner standing lamp lay broken on the floor. It looked as if a tornado had broken through the room, leaving nothing intact.

Frowning with confusion, I slowly approached him only to be frozen midway when his gaze snapped up to my face, his expression murderous. My first instinct was to run as fast as my legs could carry me, but my limbs wouldn't cooperate. Perhaps I was being silly; maybe he wasn't even angry at me. Maybe he received some bad news or a letter from a bank or something and he was just angry at _them_. Or maybe he got laid off by his company!

"Elena, would you care to explain why you lied to me?"

A shiver ran up my spine at his chilling tone, and I wondered if he had found out about my outings with Damon and Caroline somehow. I knew that he forbade me from seeing them again, but I didn't outright lie to him. I just withheld information, that's all. "W-what about?" I stammered, taking a cautious step back from his glowering look.

He didn't like that at all, as proven when he shot out of the bed and marched right up to me, waving the crumpled paper in front of my eyes. "_This_, Elena! I'm talking about you, lying to me about the person who gave you that fucking bear you're so fond of!" he yelled at me, throwing the paper at my face, making me flinch as my cheek felt the force behind his action. From the heavy feel of it, it was a card, not some piece of paper and it was now on the floor at my feet. "Pick it up and read it out loud."

With shaking hands, I slowly leaned over and reached down to retrieve the card, smoothing out the wrinkles as I did until I could make out the unfamiliar handwriting on the inside. _"Dear Elena,"_ I read with a trembling voice, _"May this furry fella keep you company and provide you comfort during troubled times. Take good care of my little buddy aka Mr. Cuddles. Your friend, Damon."_

I raised my head just in time to see Mason ripping the card out of my hands and tearing it to pieces before gaining on me, forcing me to retreat backwards. "So your _friend_ was the one who gave you that precious little gift and you lied about it, huh? What _else_ did you lie about? Have you been seeing him behind my back? Was that where you were just now? With _him_? Tell me the truth, you bitch!"

My back was against the wall by now, trapped and helpless with an unrecognizable man right in my face. My head kept shaking in response to his questions, guilt washing over me for my deception. The truth was that I _had_ been lying to him. I _was_ cheating on him with Damon. It was an _emotional_ affair, not a physical one but it was still wrong. I was guilty of every single thing he was accusing me of, but I knew that I mustn't admit that I had continued on with my friendship with Damon, not after Mason had specifically told me not to. If he was an understanding man, I didn't need to hide the truth about Damon from him, but he wasn't; he was a jealous and possessive man, easily angered by deception and lies. So I kept piling on more lies, just to placate the situation. I had to convince him that I hadn't been in touch with Damon at all, if only to calm him down. Denial was my best bet.

"No, I-I was with Caroline. We went to visit the little girl at the hospital and then she dropped me home. I swear to you, Mason, I didn't keep in touch with Da – _him_," I quickly amended, not wanting to further aggravate Mason by saying _his_ name. "You told me not to see him again, and I didn't! I-I've never seen that card before; I just assumed that Caroline gave the bear to me when I was at the hospital. Wh-where did you find the card?" I was physically quaking in the boots that Mason gave me as I cowered under his terrifying gaze, willing him to believe me.

It was working. I saw it in the way his body drooped a little and the way his eyes softened. The change was slight, but it was enough to give me some hope to cling to. I knew Mason well enough by now to know that _he_ had returned to me, from some monstrous stranger with a fiery temper to the familiar loving man I have loved for two years. It felt like a Jekyll and Hyde moment there, not knowing which personality I had to face.

"It was in one of the paper bags we brought back from the hospital," he said, sounding somewhat mollified. And then it all changed again. "What were you doing with Caroline again? I thought I made it clear to you not to mix with her anymore. Are you _incapable_ of following such a simple request?" he bit out, his hands now gripping my arms painfully as he shook me.

"I tried, Mason, I really did! I've been spending less time with her ever since I started college again and I've barely even seen her outside of class. But I wanted to go and visit Anna and she offered to drive me so-"

I stopped in mid-sentence when he flung me back against the wall forcefully, knocking the breath out of me as I gasped out in pain when my left shoulder connected with the solid surface. It felt like déjà vu all over again, a similar scene that happened over a month prior to this, in a different room of the same house, but the crippling fear, the uncertainty, the despair, it all came crashing back to me. I didn't think that I'd ever feel those feelings again, but there I was, with tears cascading down my face, my lips clamped tightly shut and my arms wrapped around my chest protectively as my eyes squeezed shut, bracing myself for the blow that I expected to follow soon.

But it didn't come. Thank God!

"So you went against me and got yourself a chauffeur, is that it?" he shouted, his voice dangerously close to my ear. "I expected more from you, Elena! I don't ask for much, but when I do, I expect you to do as I ask without putting up a fight! You know very well how that blonde bitch feels about me. You know that she has been trying to break us up since we started dating, and yet you don't see anything wrong with that! Well, it's time to test where your loyalties lie. I've given you a new life ever since your parents died; I gave you a college education, I gave you a roof over your head, and I even support you through _everything_ you went through. We have built a life together but if _this_ is how you're going to repay me, then I suggest you get out of this house and see if any of your friends would take you in. But once you're out of here, don't even think about coming back, so you make your choice right now; _me_ or your friends!"

Right on cue, I heard my best friend's voice calling out my name from downstairs, as if she had magically appeared with the sole purpose of pushing Mason's buttons, like he wasn't angry enough. My eyes popped open just in time to see Mason swear under his breath with the foulest look I've ever seen on him as he scowled towards the doorway of our room. "Get rid of her! And clean this shit up by the time I get back," he ordered, gesturing to the mess of the room before he disappeared out through the door.

I stood there against the wall, trembling from head to toe at the thought of what _could_ have happened, then I felt my legs gave out from underneath me. I slid down onto the floor just as Caroline entered through the door and I knew that I was in for another dramatic confrontation as soon as she spied the state of the room. "Elena, what happened?" she gasped, her footsteps stopping just inside the door.

I didn't see her reaction to the mess I was surrounded with nor the way her eyes quickly slid to me on the floor because I was too emotionally upset as I cried into my hands, my body shaking violently.

"Elena," she whispered gently as I felt her crouch down to my level, her fingers stroking my hair softly. "Did Mason hit you again?"

I couldn't answer so I merely shook my head and quickly unfolded myself to get back on my feet. Mason left me a specific instruction, and I wasn't about to ignore it _this_ time. I paid no heed to Caroline and proceeded to pick up random objects from the floor, making my way to the fallen lamp and then I saw something that made me let out an uncontrollable sob.

Mr. Cuddles.

My beloved bear was headless and lying under some broken glass that came from what used to be a light bulb, white cotton spilling out from the jagged edges of its neck, a sign that its head was forcibly torn from the body and then tossed elsewhere, somewhere in the midst of the disarray. Crying in earnest now, I cradled the lower half of my bear to my chest and knelt down on the floor, oblivious to the scattered remains of glass cutting through my jeans.

"Oh God, he murdered your bear!" came Caroline's voice from above me. Then I felt her grab my shoulders roughly, and I recoiled when the action resulted in a dull ache on the spot I had injured earlier. "What _else_ did he do to you, Elena? Tell me!" she pleaded, her hands pushing my wide vee neck of my shirt aside to inspect the tender spot on my shoulder but I hastily jerked away from her grasp before she could get a clear look.

"Stop it, Care!" I burst out, annoyed that she was still in my house for some reason. Why did she have to return to the house? Why did she insist to meddle in my private life when I clearly didn't want her to? Why did I have to fight with Mason over her? Why couldn't she leave me alone? "I'm fine. Now will you please leave so that I can clean this up before Mason comes home?" I requested calmly and emotionlessly, brushing the wetness from my face before I set what was left of Mr. Cuddles on the floor and resumed setting the room right again.

I heard a sigh and then Caroline was gone. I was surprised, to say the least, that it didn't take that much to get her to leave but I was glad that she had listened to me. It was just as well, anyway. I had to get used to not seeing her that much anymore…it would be hard on both of us at first, but at least she had Tyler and she was always better at maintaining her friendship with other college mates than I was.

I started to pick up the specks of glass on the floor by hand, preferring not to think of anything lest my emotions got the better of me again, so I just concentrated on clearing the room of debris, one little speck at a time. Hopefully, by the time I was done, I would be able to have a clear head to think about how I was going to make it right with Mason again. I had to. He was right; I owed him my life.

"Elena, stop cleaning up! You're tampering with the crime scene," Caroline exclaimed from the doorway, appearing yet again with her mobile phone in her hand. I really thought that she had left, but apparently not. It was so typical of her, ignoring my wishes, sticking her nose in where it didn't belong. I was about to object to her presence when she pulled me up to my feet and led me to the attached bathroom, pushing me to stand in front of the mirror.

"Take a good hard look at yourself, Elena. See what he's done to you," she ordered when I refused to lift up my head. I didn't have to look into my own reflection to know that I was a mess, and it wasn't time for vanity now. I struggled to get away, but she held me to the spot, forcing my head up until my eyes connected with a stranger's in the mirror.

Whoever it was that stared back at me, I didn't recognize her. Her hair was untidy, her eyes puffy and red, mascara smeared and shirt in disarray. She looked wild and crazy, as if she was about to fall apart at any second. The most noticeable mannerism was that she was shaking like a leaf. I wanted to comfort her, whoever she was, to wrap my arms around her and tell her that everything was going to be fine but I couldn't. I _didn't_ know if everything would be fine. I wished that I had a time machine to travel into the future to see the outcome, but I didn't so I had to make the right choice for that moment and hope for the best. I hoped it would work out for the girl in the mirror, too. I reached out my arm towards her with my fingers outstretched to wipe the smeared mascara from her face but all I felt was the cold surface of the reflective glass, shocking me as I pulled my hand back. I looked around for Caroline but she wasn't next to me anymore. So preoccupied was I with the stranger that I didn't even realize when she exited the bathroom.

Suddenly, I heard some commotion from somewhere in the house and then male voices. I panicked at the thought of Mason's swift return when I hadn't even tidied up the room yet, so I ran out only to stop short when I almost collided with a man in my room, running in through the door. It was Damon.

"Elena? You're alive? You're safe?" his velvety voice near my ear sounded relieved as he wrapped two strong arms around me, gathering me into his embrace that made me feel safe and protected for a few seconds, before the guilt sets in again. But before I could protest, another man entered right behind Damon, and I was shocked to recognize his face.

"Detective?" I blurted out incredulously. I remembered him from my parents' case but I had forgotten his name. In fact, he was the one who had appeared at my parent's doorstep and informed me that they were in an accident. What was he doing _here_ now? In Mason's house? Wielding a gun?

"You called the cops?" I asked Caroline in disbelief, struggling out of Damon's arms to glare accusingly at my former best friend whom I finally noticed was standing near the edge of the bed. Yes, former because a best friend would never betray me like that.

"I called Damon. _He_ called for back-up. I may have overreacted a little, but _look_ at the state of this room. Elena, you didn't see the look he gave me when he passed me in the hallway. That man is dangerous," she explained, without even the least bit of guilt for her betrayal.

"You claimed that there was a murder?" the detective asked in all seriousness, his eyes on her, obviously not taking his job lightly.

Oh, no! No, no, no, no! It was all spiraling out of control. First, Caroline had to butt in, and then Damon, but now the police were involved too? And _murder_? There was no murder!

Caroline nodded and gestured to the space beside her feet, where she had placed a pillow case over a lump on the floor. "Technically, it _wasn't_ a murder but anyone who could tear the head off an innocent bear is surely capable of one, isn't he? Lucky I turned back to return Elena's phone that she left in my car! I tried my best to salvage the crime scene, but Elena got a little too eager to clean up, so I did what I could with the time that I had left, what with her going all emotional on me," she gestured to me as she stepped aside so that the detective could hunker down beside the lump to remove the pillow case. "Maybe you'll find Mason's fingerprints on it and charge him for assault or something. I don't even want to imagine what else might have happened if I had not walked in here," she said, her worried eyes on me.

I didn't even know how to react when I saw what the detective had uncovered; whether to laugh hysterically or to break down completely when I saw my bear lying there with a blue marker outlining its 'body', exactly like a scene from CSI. Damon let out a shocked gasp when he saw his gift to me, sans head, and then he wrapped a protective arm around my shoulders, causing me to wrench myself free again.

"Yeah, she doesn't like it when you touch her shoulders. I think there's a bruise there," my former best friend said while I gaped at her audacity. Before I could stop him, Damon had already pulled my collar down over my left shoulder, and I watched as his eyes widened with concern at first and then anger at what he found there. I couldn't see if I had a bruise there but I knew that it was tender, judging by my flinch when he ran his fingers lightly across the area.

Before, I would have been affected by his touch and concern, but now it just made me feel worse for betraying Mason, so I took a few steps away from him and rounded on all three of them. "I think you should all leave now," I announced, wearing my stern expression. "Please."

"Elena, you can't seriously expect us to just _leave_ you here alone after what that monster did to you!" Damon argued, looking appalled at the thought. "_Look_ at this place! He trashed a room and ripped the head off a stuffed toy in a rage and you're _still_ not leaving him? You need to leave this house and you need to go right now! Stay with Blon-Caroline or anyone else, but _you_ have to be out of here!" His tone was firm, but he was about to discover how stubborn I can be.

"No, I don't _have_ to do anything! This is my home and Mason is my life, and the only reason he got upset was because he found that card you left for me in a paper bag. He got jealous and thought that I was keeping in touch with you behind his back, which you know what? He's right! He's absolutely right to be jealous, because I _was_ hanging out with you and Caroline after he specifically asked me not to. I _lied_ to him, so I deserved whatever punishment he gave me for it. I'm sorry you got involved in this but you've wasted your time… _both_ of you," I shifted my gaze from Damon to the detective who stood motionless beside Caroline, their frowns identical.

"I don't need nor want your help, so please go before Mason comes back and finds you all here. I have a lot of cleaning up to do, as you can see," I told them in a clipped voice, more steady than I had expected and then I dismissed them from my thoughts as I moved around my bedroom, picking up pillows and books off the floor before finding the missing head of my bear hidden under my bed sheet. My heart gave a painful twinge as I held the soft and fluffy head in my hands, and then with extreme reluctance, I placed it down on the floor with the body, intending to sweep it up later along with the fragmented glass and other unwanted items.

"Elena, come on, you can stay with me as long as you want. Just pack your bags and come with us!" Caroline pleaded. "You saw what he did to Mr. Cuddles; next time, that could be _you_! I can't just walk away not knowing if you'll even be alive tomorrow, so please, _let_ us help you."

"I think you've done enough, Care. You've been butting into my personal life for one too many times already, but this? This takes the cake, even for you. You showed up here, in Mason's home knowing full well how he feels about you. Then you stayed when I asked you to leave. And now you've called the cops on Mason?" I asked brokenly, tears falling freely once again at the thought of hurting Caroline, but it had to be done. I had to make it clear that this was the end of our friendship.

Damon stepped forward, holding his hands up on each side of him as if he was trying to negotiate for peace among us. "That's not -"

"Just stop! I don't _want_ you here and I don't want to leave the only home I have left. Please, _please_, I beg of you. Please go before he comes back. I'm already in enough trouble as it is, so please don't make it worse by letting him find you guys here," I begged quietly, feeling all the frustrations draining out of me. I kept a watchful eye on the time; it had been an hour since Mason left and he could very well be back at any moment. My heart thudded with nervousness at the thought of it, and I was certain that my fear was evidently displayed on my face when the detective nodded and addressed the other two.

"We _should_ go, Damon. Elena's right and she knows where to find us if she needs our help. Come on," he said and made his way out of the room before pausing to wait for dark-haired man to make a move.

Damon didn't. He just stood there, unmoving, staring at me with a helpless and tortured look, almost as if he wanted to snatch me up and carried me bodily away, even if I was kicking and screaming all the way out. Then he nodded slowly, accepting the fact that he couldn't do anything if I wasn't cooperating anyway, so he walked towards me and just when I thought that he was about to grab me and make a run for it, he bent down, picking up the two pieces of what used to be my bear. Then, he straightened up again to peer down at me through his impossibly long lashes, only to whisper, "You know I won't stop trying to save you, although I'm just realizing that it isn't from Mason but from yourself. Once you stop being so stubborn, you'll understand that the man you used to love is no longer there, so stop trying to find him again. In the meantime, be safe, Elena."

And with that, he was gone, pulling a sputtering and reluctant Caroline along with him, leaving me alone again in a chaotic world of my own doing. I didn't realize that I was digging my own grave by pushing away the people who cared most about me, the ones who were willing to sacrifice anything to keep me safe. I didn't know that I was doing _exactly_ what Mason wanted; to alienate me from my friends so that I had to rely on him completely. He wanted my world to revolve around him and that was what he was getting.

I realize now that he probably did that so that when he _destroyed_ my world, I wouldn't have the will or the strength to survive. I chose Mason over my friends, and that choice was the beginning of the end for me.

* * *

**Yup, I killed Mr. Cuddles. Again! And Elena made the wrong decision. Again! I'm seeing a pattern here. I'm also expecting a lot of rants coming my way. Go for it.**

**My twitter: cgsa_cher**

**Thanks, Kristi (tukct81) for being supportive and caring.**

**To boothishot (Erica): I'm shouting your name from the rooftops, as promised. ;) **


	6. Chapter 6

**It's finally going down! DE is happening! 4x06 was by far the bestest episode ever! (Yeah, yeah, I know; 'bestest' is not a real word, but try describing the most awesome way to describe Delena finally having a real shot and you'll come up empty. Hence, bestest!)**

**Yeah, and I also learnt not to post a chapter around a TVD episode because nobody would bother reading or reviewing. Everyone would be too busy talking what went on in the episode to care. Except for a handful of you who **_**did**_** care enough to leave me some awesome review! I love each and every one of you. Truly. SQUEAL!**

**Oh, a Happy Thanksgiving to all of you who are celebrating it! I don't celebrate it because I'm Asian but I just want to say that I'm thankful for all the wonderful support this story has received and the most amazing friends I've gained through this website and on Twitter. Seriously, I would trade my real life friends for all of you and that's something because I happen to love all my real life friends. Cheers! **

* * *

**A Woman's Worth: Chapter Six**

_Damon's POV_

Twenty-one days.

For the mathematically challenged, that's three freaking weeks since I reluctantly left _her_ house, holding onto two separate balls of fur, the remains of the bear formerly known as Mr. Cuddles. That bastard mutilated our bear! What kind of sick psycho would harm a stuffed toy and take his insane– and unfounded – jealousy out on another person? A person as sweet and innocent as Elena?

"You're doing it again. You're pretending that the steering wheel is his neck again, aren't you?" the now familiar voice came from the backseat of my car, my prized possession, a 1967 Chevy Camaro. If it was for any reason other than Elena Gilbert, I would have been seated in my macho vehicle with my somewhat less macho wingman, Alaric Saltzman, at this moment. But since my buddy would most likely frown with disapproval at my plans for the day, I had to find a back-up wingman stat. That was the _only_ reason the blonde with the annoyingly shrill voice was in my car in the first place.

"Hmm? Oh, sorry," I muttered, releasing my tight grip on the leather as I relaxed my fingers, cracking my knuckles before I turned to my partner-in-crime. If someone had told me weeks ago that I would be sitting in a car with Caroline Forbes, parked on the side of a road and munching on popcorn, I would have laughed in their face and probably thought they were nuts. But now, she was the only person whom I had the most in common with; Elena.

We both care about the girl so much that I learnt to tolerate the blonde's high-spirited ways if only to have someone else to talk to about the particularly stubborn brunette. No one else could possibly understand the worry and fear I felt for her, the one girl I was powerless to help. The girl whom I wanted to save so badly and yet didn't want to be saved. It took every ounce of control I had left to leave her bedroom three weeks ago without her in my arms. Caroline and I had bonded over the weeks because she felt the same.

"No need to apologize. I constantly find myself fantasizing about introducing a meat cleaver into that monster's head myself, but I figured with the blood and the gore and my fancy dresses….he's just not worth the dry cleaning bills, you know?" Caroline shuddered violently, making her thoughts about messing up her ridiculously expensive outfits known. I found myself completely in awe of her sometimes, with her unflinching loyalty to her best friend and her constant upbeat attitude about anything and everything around her. In fact, her enthusiasm was downright contagious!

"So, no blood and no gore?" I pretended to ponder for a moment and then turned to her with an 'Ah-ha!' expression. "Should we poison the fucker or just push him off Wickery Bridge?"

"I vote for poison; it's much less of a hassle and we don't need to drive anywhere. We can just do it right now, even! Besides, Mason's a good swimmer and nobody ever drowns in that river. It's like the most undrown-able river ever," she said in all seriousness, as if discussing the various methods of murdering someone was an everyday occurrence. Come on, how could I _not_ love this girl? In fact, she'd be perfect for –

"Look! There's Elena!" she gasped suddenly, effectively halting me in mid-thought. What? She mentioned the E-word!

I quickly turned back to the front, looking at where she was pointing and true enough, it _was_ her. Except she looked nothing like the girl I met in a hospital and far from the girl I left in her bedroom. She was much too skinny now, her clothes looking drab, hanging loosely off her body. Her hair appeared lackluster and her face was gaunt and pale, as if she hadn't seen sunlight in days…weeks even. I should know because I had been watching, from afar for three weeks, and I barely got a glimpse of her aside from the times when she stepped out of the house with Mason, just long enough to catch a ride with him to college and back. Although in this week, she never even left the house at all!

"Do you think she's sick? Or hurt?" I automatically whispered, as if the object of my attention could hear me from across the street, five houses away. That was where we were parked, by the way. My Camero was a regular sight in that neighborhood by now.

"Probably, yeah," Caroline agreed, her eyes squinting into the brightness. "That would explain why she skipped all her classes this week. Should I go say 'Hi'? I should, right? I'm gonna go say 'Hi'." She made a move to unlock her side of the car door, but I hastily stopped her.

"Wait, if you go out there now, she's going to know that we've been watching her!"

She turned back to flash me an incredulous look, tossing her wavy blonde locks over her shoulder. "So, when you asked me to come along to keep an eye on Elena, you actually _meant_ 'keep an eye on Elena'? Because I don't think that you've blinked even once since we started this stakeout mission of yours." She blinked at me with her wide blue-green eyes as if to prove a point. Now that she mentioned it, my eyes _were_ getting dry and blurry. "Are we supposed to sit here all day, eating donuts and drinking coffee like a couple of lame detectives while we wait for her to suddenly and miraculously come to her senses?"

Okay, she had a point. She had a _very_ good point, but I was in no position to meddle in a victim's affairs if she didn't want me to. And Elena made it clear that she didn't want or need my help. So, I was forced to lay low and keep a lookout. As a matter of fact, Ric would be proud of my sense of control since there was nothing more that I wanted to do than to fling open my car door and sprint over to rescue my tiny damsel.

"Don't forget the popcorn, the muffins, the chocolates, and the double-stuffed Oreos you brought along," I reminded her drily, my eyes sweeping over the backseat with disgust at the sight of the discarded wrappers and empty boxes surrounding her. "Did you mishear stakeout and think picnic?"

"So I eat a lot when I'm bored," Caroline exclaimed defensively, rolling her eyes at me as if I should have known that. "If I don't get out there and do something about Elena, I'm going to be fat and it's going to be all _your_ fault when I can't fit into my dream wedding dress someday. Besides, I _really_ have to pee!" And with that, she ignored my protests and stormed towards her best friend who was emptying her mail box and was about to turn back towards the house when Blondie approached her.

I stared powerlessly as the scene unfolded in front of me, as the two girls saw each other for the first time this week. I experienced a moment of panic when I saw Caroline's eyes widened in shock and then made to grab Elena's face, just before the frail-looking brunette flung her hands away and hurriedly retreated towards the main door. Care shouted something after her, stopping Elena in her tracks, but then Elena shook her head sadly and made a reply before taking another step towards the door again. The persistent blonde grabbed her arm to stop her and I could see Elena wince at the contact.

I was out of the car before I realized it and my feet were carrying me to her, to the girl who haunted my dreams every night and occupied my thoughts every moment of the day, driving me crazy with worry. Her name left my lips before I could stop myself and in that instant, Elena turned her tortured gaze to me, stopping me in my tracks at the amount of pain I witnessed there. The look in her eyes almost brought me to my knees; such terrible sadness in them that my heart broke for her. She shook her head and mouthed the words, "Please, don't." The next moment, she was gone, back through the door that separated us, hiding behind huge walls that she had built around herself.

I slumped in defeat against a nearby tree that was at the halfway point from my car to her house. Every single cell in my body was desperate to beat down the door so that I could get to her, to see her and to talk to her. But at the same time, I knew that I had to respect her wishes, even though she was self-destructing every moment she remained at Lockwood's side. I couldn't understand why, why she didn't want my help when it was clear that she wasn't happy in her life with Mason. The agony that I saw in her eyes was eating at her, one day at a time, and I feared that it would gnaw away until there was nothing left of the brave and courageous girl I met at the hospital. Lockwood was going to break her spirit and there was nothing I could do about it.

"Damon?" a soft voice reached my ears and I looked up to find a tear-filled Caroline standing over me. I didn't even realize that I was kneeling on the ground as if I was praying for some kind of divine intervention. "Did you see her? She had a purple bruise at the side of her neck and I'm pretty sure that her arms were injured, too. What do we do?" she asked, looking almost as helpless as I felt. What _can_ we do? How do we help someone who refuses us at every single turn?

"I don't know, Care. I don't fucking know," I breathed out, at a loss for my next course of action. "Did she say anything?" I asked her, somehow feeling that there was a message for me from Elena somewhere during the brief conversation she had with Caroline.

Unsurprisingly, she nodded, two huge tears rolling down her cheeks as she furiously tried to blink them away. "She said to stop trying to save her, that she's a lost cause and we shouldn't try to contact her again. I'm scared, Damon. I'm scared of losing her," she admitted, sniffing loudly while her tears flowed unchecked.

"Me too, Care, me too."

* * *

We were back again the next day. To be honest, I thought that the whole incident yesterday with Elena would have made the blonde give up already, but she returned, with even more determination than ever. She even came equipped with a pair of binoculars and a bigger picnic basket, a sure sign of how serious she was taking the stakeout this time.

As if by some unspoken mutual agreement, neither one of us mentioned anything about Elena's request to leave her alone, if anything, it made us even more determined to make sure that she was at least still alive. I parked my car at my usual spot, under a shady tree at daybreak and Blondie joined me an hour later, claiming that she had trouble sleeping. We both sat there, watching as Lockwood left the house with his briefcase and went to work, leaving Elena alone again for the rest of the day. She never came out of the house at all, but I saw the curtains rustling right after his car left their driveway, and I found some relief in the fact that she was, at least, alive.

I never took my eyes off the house, not even for a moment while the hours whittled away, which was why I almost jumped out of my skin sometime after lunch hour when the passenger door opened and a man climbed in, a displeased look on his face.

"Ric?" I gaped in disbelief. Why was he in my car and how did he know where to find me?

"Oh, so you _do_ remember me, do you? I haven't even seen a glimpse of your _shadow_ in weeks aside from your phone call yesterday, and that's _all_ you've got to say to me?" he asked, clearly not happy to see me in this particular neighborhood. Yes, I admit it; I _have_ been AWOL lately and haven't been a good friend. I'd even go so far as to say that I was a crappy one. Lately I'd neglected my two best friends in favor of watching over my charge from a great distance, but this was a matter of life and death. Surely, Ric of _all_ people could understand that.

"Umm, hey, buddy. How's it hanging?" I fake-smiled at him, wondering just how much trouble I was in. I called in a favor after seeing Elena outside her home, asking if Meredith could schedule her for a routine check-up on her previous injury, while at the same time, finding an excuse to have a look at her latest bruises. The appointment was supposed to be for ten a.m. but since I was keeping a very close eye on Elena, I already knew that she had missed her appointment with Mer. Perhaps Mason didn't want her out in public sporting a huge bruise on her neck? That would also explain why she wasn't attending any of her classes.

"How's it hanging?! Damon, what the _hell_ are you doing, stalking your charge in your car and with a teenager in the backseat?" Ric bit out, not amused in the slightest at my pathetic attempt to make small talk. Although, it was hard to take it seriously when someone I dubbed as Tweedle-Dum gave me the frowny face. If anything, I wanted to pinch his cheeks for _acting_ all mature and responsible, especially since I knew how silly he could be.

"I turned twenty-one a couple of months back but thank you for the compliment," Care burst out proudly, her cheeks reddening with pleasure at being mistaken for a teenager.

I grinned in amazement at her carefree attitude despite the predicament I suddenly found myself in; I was caught between saving Elena from herself and being the detached professional I'm used to being in a case like hers. It was like being stuck between a rock and a hard place, because both options had their own merits.

"Sorry, where are my manners? My best friend and my so-called boss, Ric Saltzman, meet Caroline Forbes, best friend of the very woman we're stalking," I introduced, pointing my finger at them respectively. Ric appeared to be slightly placated upon learning the identity of my companion, his eyes softening with sympathy for her friend as they shook hands.

"So _you're_ the one who called in about an attempted murder on a stuffed animal?" Ric asked with a wry smile as he studied the blonde. When she nodded, his smile broadened as if he was amused by it and then he turned his attention back to me. "Elijah filled me in on what happened the other day. Damon, you know very well that I don't approve of you being so involved in this case, not to the point of operating a _stakeout_ a few meters down the road from a suspected abused victim's house! You need to take a step back, reassess the situation and find _another_ way to help her. Sitting in a car with her best friend and eating…" he paused, his gaze straying to my other passenger who was busy stuffing her face while aiming her binoculars at a specific house up ahead, "…packets of Ding Dongs is not helping _anyone_ at the moment."

I sighed deeply, trying to make sense of his advice, which was sound in theory, but extremely difficult to heed in my situation. "Don't you think I've tried, Ric? I've tried to stay away, to give her time and to just keep earning her trust but it didn't work. That asshat she's living with basically forbade her from having any contact, and not just with me, but with her own best friend as well! He's turning Elena into a recluse, cutting off her support system and you know as well as _I_ do the damage that will do to her emotionally. She hasn't left her house for a week, Ric, not even to go to college, and the _only_ time she stepped out of the house was yesterday, which Care and I were lucky enough to witness. And when her oldest friend in the world approached her to talk - spying a huge ugly bruise on her neck, by the way - Elena just turned her away, saying that she's a lost cause and asking us not to contact her again," I explained, my grip tightening on my steering wheel once again as the helpless feelings returned. My thoughts drifted back to the look in her eyes as our gaze met, haunting me the entire night and even now.

"She's at the end of her rope, I know it. She feels that she has nowhere else to go, and maybe she thinks that she owes Lockwood something and that's why she's staying. Whatever the reason might be, it's eating her alive and it's _killing_ me that there's nothing I can do about it," I said through gritted teeth and then looked over to the house that kept Elena away from escape…from salvation. "Don't ask me to go home, Ric. Don't ask me to leave her to fend for herself because I can't bear the thought of losing someone I'm in lo- someone I care very much about," I finished, nearly choking on my almost admission.

The silence that followed was deafening. It was as if time had stopped and everything had come to an absolute standstill. And then Caroline started humming the notes of Nat King Cole's song 'L.O.V.E.' while happily chomping away on her third packet of hockey puck-shaped chocolate cakes. I wonder if her constant consumption of sugary goodness was the reason behind her unlimited energy and enthusiasm.

"You're in _love_?" my buddy gasped in genuine surprise, his round wide orbs focused on my flushed cheeks. I didn't blame the guy for being surprised…shocked even. He had never heard me utter those words out loud in my life. To be fair, it was only _half_ a word, but it was enough to render Ric speechless. Well, almost. "But that's huge!" he went on, still not able to process the thought of me feeling that way about anyone since my previous relationship. I mean, I took a blood oath and everything after calling it quits; it was all incredibly dramatic, not to mention unnecessarily messy and painful. _Of course_ I was talking about the blood oath, not the relationship.

"Well, of course he's in love! Any blind person could see that!" Caroline scoffed from behind us all of a sudden. "You only have to be in the same _room_ as the two of them to be able to feel their sexual chemistry with each other. He and Elena could practically shoot out babies from having eye-sex alone."

_Eye-sex_?! We do _not_ have eye-sex! Do we?

"Umm, not helping, Care," I mumbled under my breath, now embarrassed that my feelings were apparent for all to see. I have never been more vulnerable in my life.

"So, it _wasn't_ just an inappropriate crush on your charge? You have genuine feelings for this girl? Does she feel the same way?" Man, Ric was being super nosy today. What did it matter if my feelings for Elena were real or not? It didn't change the fact that I was unable to help her get out of an abusive relationship. And if she felt something for me, wouldn't she have found the will to leave Lockwood by now?

"Look, I don't know how I feel about her, okay? All I know is that she's a young woman who's in trouble, and I'm just trying to help, just like I've tried to help many _other_ victims before her. And yes, my methods may be unorthodox and may not accomplish much, but at least I'll be near enough to help her if something was to happen. It sure as hell beats pacing the carpet off your house or mine, waiting for a phone call from the hospital, or worse, the morgue," I deflected indignantly, tired of having to defend my actions whilst trying to protect an innocent. As far as Ric was concerned, I was simply doing my job the best way I knew how.

He pursed his lips as he stared intently at me, as if he was trying to decipher something on my face. Then, his next words threw me off-guard. "Despite my better judgment, I'm going to help you. We're going to get Elijah in on this and have his guys keep a lookout on the house, but in the mean time, I want you, and _you_," he flashed a pointed look at the blonde behind me, "to go home and take a break, get cleaned up, eat and pee, or whatever, and then _we_ will reconvene tomorrow morning and put together a plan to get Elena out of that house. I'll recruit Mer in on it as well, since she's her physician and has every right to schedule a follow-up appointment. I gather from your surveillance that you already know that Elena didn't turn up at the appointment this morning, right?"

I nodded, and a feeling of immense gratitude and brotherhood with Ric filled my fear-filled heart. At least there was a plan, nothing solid as yet, but still, a glimmer of hope on the horizon. It was the inactivity that made me restless more than anything, but now that I had my two original wingmen on board, I had no doubt at all that this rescue mission would be a success.

Elena's life depended on it.

* * *

_General POV_

Caroline Forbes went home in a jovial mood, her spirits lifted following the car scene between Damon and his friend earlier. It felt good to be a part of a team, especially for an important cause like this one. She was never picked for anything; not for sports since she thought that sweating was a mortal sin, not for games since she was such a control freak over the rules, and certainly not for rescue missions, since her life wasn't cool like that. But _this_ time, she was a part of a mission to rescue one of the most important people in her life; her best friend. Mostly though, the idea of being surrounded by hunky guys was a major boost to her ego.

That was why she was grinning and humming the Nat King Cole's song to herself as she let herself into her house and proceeded to the kitchen with her picnic basket, not noticing the presence of her boyfriend sitting comfortably on a couch in the den.

"Where have you been all day, Care? Did you forget that I was picking you up after class?" Tyler questioned heatedly, immediately rising to his feet upon seeing her. Her eyes widening in surprise, she whirled around to face him in bewilderment.

"Oh God, did we have plans today?" she asked, clasping her palm over her mouth guiltily before she hurriedly sauntered over to the annoyed man, wrapping her arms around his torso as she flashed her best innocent expression on him. "I'm sorry, Ty, but something came up and I forgot."

"Oh really? You seem to be awfully forgetful these days. Did that 'something' have anything to do with Elena again?" Tyler seemed to be unimpressed even when Caroline nuzzled into his chest the way she usually does whenever she's feeling particularly playful.

She shrugged in a noncommittal way, unwilling to give anything away since she knew that he was firmly on Team Mason, which was the losing team so far in terms of members. Team Mason only had one, well two, counting Elena. "Don't ask if you don't want to know the answer, Ty. Anyway, we can still go out if you want. Just let me freshen up first, okay?" Without waiting for his answer, she planted a peck on her unyielding boyfriend's lips and hopped over to her bedroom, leaving behind the almost full picnic basket and her purse at the kitchen counter.

Tyler eyed her unattended purse and made his way into the kitchen, keeping an eye out for Caroline's return as he slipped her phone out. His jaws clenched as he scrolled through her text messages and call history, not liking what he was seeing at all.

Fifteen minutes later, a newly showered and changed Caroline reemerged into the kitchen, smiling at the motionless jock as she entered. "I just need a little lip gloss in my purse and we're good to go," she told him, oblivious to what was about to transpire in her own home. She searched through her purse for the item and finally noticed something that was missing. "Hmm, where did I put my phone?" she mumbled to herself.

"You mean this one?" asked Tyler, his darkening eyes trained on her. "The one you've been using to communicate with your secret boyfriend?"

Caroline's already pale complexion turned ashen at his accusation, her heart dropping to her stomach at the thought of what he'd found. Even though she wasn't having a secret affair, she was still hiding something pretty big from him, something that he wouldn't understand, especially if it involved his uncle.

"You looked through my phone? Gee, whatever happened to respecting a person's privacy?" she retorted sarcastically, reaching her hand out to snatch back her phone, only to grab at air as Tyler hastily moved out of reach.

"Don't turn this around on _me_! _You're_ the one arranging secret meetings and having long chats with this Salvatore guy. How long has this been going on, huh? Since the hospital visits?"

She shook her head hurriedly and went into full defensive mode. "I'm not cheating on you, if that's what you're insinuating! And I also don't go checking up on you either, so give me back my phone, you doink!"

"Oh yeah? Well, this phone proves otherwise, so I think I'll hold on to it a little bit longer, if you don't mind," Tyler waved her phone triumphantly and then proceeded to read from one of her messages to Damon. "'Oh, here's one of your outgoing messages; '_Hey, Starsky. I'll be there, just need to pack some nourishment for later. See you soon!'_ to which _he_ replied, '_Take your time, Hutch. I'll be at my usual spot, just make sure you're not seen by anyone._' If _that's_ not sneaking around behind my back, then I don't know what is."

Caroline released a groan, weighing her options at this point. If she came clean, she would risk letting Mason know that he was being watched and he could very well take it out on Elena, but if she _didn't_, she would be accused of having an affair with Damon and that would be all sorts of messy, especially where Tyler's concerned.

"Okay, it has something to do with Elena but I can't tell you because then you'd be mad at me for meddling again, so you're just going to have to trust me," she blurted out in a rush, her words stringing out one after the other without a beat.

Tyler gave a humorless laugh and bit his lower lip, studying the blonde with a head shake. Then, without any warning, he threw her phone at the wall right behind her, narrowly missing her ear by inches, causing her phone to smash into pieces at the impact. "_Trust_ you? You're running around in Mystic Falls with some guy, talking to him dozens of times over the phone and you want me to trust you without some kind of explanation other than 'It's for Elena'?"

"What the hell, Tyler?" Caroline screamed, her fingers buried through her hair onto the sides of her head as if unable to believe what just happened. Her boyfriend just threw her phone against a wall. Did that just happen? "You did _not_ just smashed my phone! What the hell is wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with _me_? I put up with a lot of things with you; all your drama, your incessant chatter, your constant need to watch The Notebook over and over again, but I'll be damned if I put up with your bullshit after being caught red-handed with another guy, especially not after you've been with _him_ the whole day today, having a damn picnic!" In the midst of his temper tantrum, the next item that ended up scattered on the floor was the picnic basket, along with its contents. Then, he charged at his stricken girlfriend, grabbing her by the sides of her arms and shook her hard, taunting her, daring her to deny it.

"Let go of me! Let go of me, you psycho monster! You're just like him, like Mason," she yelled, struggling wildly against his firm grip, and then a loud slap resonated through the kitchen. A stunned Tyler held his stinging cheek with one hand and retaliated by backhanding Caroline with another, sending the petite woman crashing into the kitchen counter where the picnic basket was placed earlier. Her cheek was red from the impact and her eyes were livid as she turned to face the man she thought she would marry one day.

"Get out!" she bit out in a low growl, straightening herself up to glower at him.

Whatever it was that Tyler expected from her, those two words definitely didn't cross his mind, judging from the shock that appeared on his face. "You're kicking me out? You're not even going to _attempt_ to defend yourself?"

"No matter what you thought I did or didn't do is immaterial now. I am not Elena and I do not tolerate violence! You hit me and that's a deal breaker right there. Now, get out of my house!" she ordered, pointing to the front door and making it clear that she meant it, although, Tyler chose to ignore her.

"But you hit me first!" he argued, massaging his reddened cheek where her palm connected earlier.

"Yes, because you were shaking me and refusing to let go! And also, you wrecked my phone, you ass wipe. Now get out of here before I call the cops on you, and in case it's not obvious, we're _so_ over," she announced steadily, moving quickly to the front door and holding it open while waiting for him to leave.

Much to her relief, Tyler obediently walked over the threshold only to halt just as she was about to close the door behind him. "Just so we're clear, I broke up with _you_, not the other way around," he informed her, with a smug smile.

"Whatever makes you sleep better at night, loser. Oh, and just so _we're_ clear, your penis is tiny and I faked all my orgasms with you. Buh bye," Caroline waved and proceeded to slam the door shut on his shocked face, banging him on his nose while she was at it. She shook her head at the sound of his yell and promptly burst into tears.

* * * _Abuse is a form of bullying_* * *

The next morning, Caroline woke up groggily from a restless sleep to the sound of persistent bell-ringing. She ignored it at first, throwing a pillow over her head to block out the incessant sounds, but then the knockings started. Expecting it to be an angry ex-boyfriend, she groaned loudly and then threw on a robe and made her way to the front door, gearing up for a fight until she pulled the door open to reveal an anxious Damon.

"Hey, your phone's not working. Why aren't you ready ye– hey, are you okay? Are you sick?" he asked, his gaze perusing over her attire and her puffy eyes.

"Yeah, I'm sick of Lockwoods," Caroline responded, leaving the door open for him and yawned loudly as she went into the recently cleaned kitchen except for the scattered pieces of what's left of her phone.

Damon followed her into the house without closing the door since he was expecting to leave soon. Joining her in the kitchen, his keen eyes spied the leftover mess on the floor and they narrowed suspiciously. "What happened there?" he asked, pointing to the clutter.

"Tyler happened," she replied drily, and then proceeded to recount the way Tyler had gone through her phone to find their correspondences, leading him to suspect that they were going around behind his back. Damon's expression became angrier by the minute when she told him how he threw her phone and the basket onto the floor, and then he was practically frothing at the mouth when she got to the part where Tyler backhanded her in retaliation of her slapping him. "Then I slammed the door on his face after I insulted his manhood."

"Well, I'm proud of you for standing up to him, really," Damon uttered with a small smile, feeling a weird sense of pride for her courage. "That must have been hard for you to do and I only wish that Elena had the same mindset because even a single assault should _not_ be excused, no matter what the cause may be. She's lucky to have a friend like you by her side, Care," he patted her on the back in a comforting gesture.

Caroline sighed wearily, rubbing her eyes to get rid of the cobwebs of sleep still lingering in her mind. "Well, I could use my best friend around right now, too. I need a hug badly," she whined, thinking of the anti-Lockwood chant they would be saying in her room had Elena been with her right then. They would be going through her photo albums and burning any picture with Tyler's face in them, too.

"Well, I'm no best friend, but what about a hug from a partner in crime instead, Hutch?" the raven-haired man suggested, opening his arms wide enough for the blonde to slip into, the very first time he ever willingly hugged another female other than Elena. At that moment, she was a friend in need, so he provided some comfort to her, as badly as he wanted to comfort Elena in his arms instead and he was simply grateful that at least one _almost_ victim had the strength to walk away from what could potentially be a disaster.

Neither of them realized that at that very moment, a _current_ victim, who had managed to sneak out of the confines of her house to comfort an old friend from a break-up, was witnessing their embrace from the entrance, where the front door was left wide open.

* * *

**My twitter: cgsa_cher in case you want to talk about silly stuff like raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens. **

**Thanks to my beloved beta, Kristi (tukct81) for being your usual awesome self. :D Now that you've wrapped up Neverending Progress, I now can harass you with this story all the time! Yee-hah! **


	7. Chapter 7

**DISCLAIMER: Yes, I'm evil and/or heartless. So, what else is new? **

**Do you know why it's important to leave a review for a story? It's so that I can have an actual conversation with you personally & get to know you. Otherwise, you'd just be a nameless statistic, a number in the number of views to a chapter. I would prefer to get to know you on a human level, if that's alright with you.**

**Having said that, I hope you enjoy the chapter, everybody!**

* * *

**A Woman's Worth: Chapter Seven**

_Elena's POV_

Things were supposed to get better. He promised.

To prove how much I loved Mason, I cut off my entire social life for him, choosing _him_ instead of my oldest friend, hoping that it would make me worthy of his love and respect.

But it wasn't enough. I _had_ to have done something wrong to deserve his beatings, his insults and his anger. Perhaps I wasn't attentive enough, or that he wasn't satisfied in bed, or that he couldn't bring himself to trust me after I lied to him about seeing Caroline.

By the time he came home after our horrible fight, the same day that I severed all ties to my friendships with both Caroline and Damon, I had our bedroom spotless and arranged just as it was before. I treated the entire exercise as a cleansing ritual, a way to wipe the slate clean between us and to start over. As I swept up the mess on the floor, I imagined the fragments of glass as pieces of my old life, the one where I had my parents and friends. Well, my parents died and my world got turned upside down, and since then, nothing has ever been right again.

Well, this was my chance for a do-over. I had to say goodbye to that version of Elena and reinvent myself, so that I could have a chance to be happy again with the man I love. All I need is Mason. He is my one constant, my only chance to have a semblance of a life, a future. I really thought that by bidding farewell to the old me, I could be whoever Mason wanted me to be, his partner in every way possible, his equal and his cherished one.

I couldn't believe how wrong I was. Despite his commitment to change, our relationship just escalated from bad to worse. There had been some moments where I could still see glimpses of the old Mason, the one who held me while I cried over my parents' death, the one who helped me pack up all my belongings before I moved in with him, the one who touched me tenderly as he whispered how much he loved me. That Mason was still in there somewhere; I just needed to find him again.

What hurt the most was that he seemed to think less of me for choosing him above all else, as if he looked down on me somehow. He began to constantly criticize me, telling me that I wasn't a good person because I turned my back on my own best friend in favor of having a roof over my head, calling me all sorts of names, like I was a free-loader and not good for anything. I knew he was being a hypocrite, since he was the one who made me choose in the first place, and now he was punishing me for being so desperate to please him.

And oh, the _ways_ he wanted me to please him. Gone were the days where we made any eye-contact when we made love; now, he seemed to prefer taking me from behind as if he couldn't bear to even look at my face. His hands that were once gentle were now bruising, relentless as he held me down while I pleased him orally, ignoring my protests when his grip tightened painfully on my neck and arms as he sought his pleasure. The bruises got so obvious that I had to cut classes to avoid being questioned by my classmates, or worse, Caroline. I knew that she was hurt over my lack of communication with her and worried about me, but I really didn't want her to be caught between Mason and me. It wasn't fair to her.

Now friendless and missing most of my classes for the semester, I woke up one morning and took stock of my life, reflecting on the way it had turned out; me being so dependent on one guy, the one who didn't seem to like the person I had become, no matter what I did to constantly change myself to be the person that he could accept. I felt as if I was in a play, taking on one role after another to test the reception of each, until one day I had to stare hard into the mirror and realize that _I _was nowhere to be found.

I searched for the real Elena, the one who was a jovial, active girl, full of life and ambition but she was gone. All I could see as I stared at my reflection was an empty shell, no personality, no sign of life, and no soul. I was simply Mason's living doll, manipulated and molded to be whatever he wanted me to be on a whim, and _yet_ I wasn't good enough. I would _never_ be good enough.

My thoughts turned to Damon Salvatore for a brief moment. He was like a beacon of light that shined brightly at a time when I was in my darkest hour, bearing symbols of hope and joy. His sudden presence in my life was both welcomed _and_ unwelcomed; the former because he reminded me of the girl I used to be, and the latter because he made me yearn for things to be different. He made me question and doubt my choices, wish for change and hope for a better life. He caused me to regret the way my life had turned out, by being with a man who was causing me pain.

I suppressed those feelings the instant they raised to the surface. I shouldn't feel those things, not when I was trying to fight so hard for my relationship with Mason. People like Caroline and Damon may not be able to understand why I chose to stay with him instead of taking the easy way out and running as far as I could from him, but then what would that say about me? My friends were so hell-bent on rescuing me from this life, but who was going to save Mason, then? This man that he had become, it wasn't him. He was being controlled by his anger and frustration, and sometimes even alcohol, but it wasn't _him_. I have seen him at his worst, whenever he turned into the Monster Mason with the unfeeling eyes, and I have also seen him at his best.

Mason had been there with me during the worst possible time of my life, when I fractured emotionally after I learnt of my parents' accident. He was there to pick up the pieces and glue them back together again to make me whole. I owed him my life. How could I leave him when he needed me the most? He was unwell, and I wanted to be the one to fix him. Then, we'd get our happily ever after.

I clung onto that notion with everything I had left in me, the parts that weren't damaged by Mason's regular put-downs. That was until I saw _him_ again. I had noticed for quite some time, the presence of a familiar looking car down the road, always parked at the same spot underneath a huge tree, but the occupants were always hidden beneath the shade. Something told me that it was _him_, that nagging feeling at the back of my head, but it was only a suspicion until I saw my former best friend walk right up to it and enter the vehicle, carrying a large picnic basket.

They were there, a few houses down from me, and all I could think about was running right out to hug them and thank them for caring about me so much, but I was too scared. Afraid that Mason would find out, and also wary of the danger of letting myself get too close to anyone, since I would have to give them up all over again. Mostly, I was worried about having hope. Hope is a dangerous thing to have, especially for a person who was on the verge of breaking down with all the weight of emotions I was carrying around.

So, I ignored them, as best that I could, although I found myself constantly peeping through the drapes to see if they were still there until it quickly became a daily routine. I would sit for hours by the windows, watching for any activity surrounding the car, safely hidden behind the heavy curtains, just knowing that they were watching out for me. Which was why I was extremely reluctant one morning when Mason asked me to collect the mail. He was expecting an important document of some sort, but I knew that the moment I stepped out of the house alone, I would be cornered by Caroline or Damon, maybe even both.

So, despite my reservations to leave the safety of my house, it was with extreme caution that I made my way down the porch and onto the narrow pathway that led to our mailbox, restraining myself from turning my head towards the vehicle a few meters from me. I kept my back rigid, my posture tensed as I hastily removed the pile of envelopes and retraced my steps to the front door, only to be deterred by Caroline, who appeared without a sound.

"Elena!" she called out, putting a hand on my shoulder as she pulled me back to face her. Then, her eyes widened when she caught sight of the forgotten bruise on my neck, and I cursed that I didn't think to pull on a sweater or wrap a scarf over my neck before I stepped out of the house earlier. "Oh my God, what did he do to you this time?" she exclaimed with a horrified look.

She reached out to grab hold of my face when I tried to hide my injured neck, but I managed to fling her hands off me before she could get a good grip, now practically running towards the porch until she yelled out the one name that could possibly make me hesitate to take another step further.

"Damon's here and he can help you!" she said urgently, making her way to me. Well, of course she knew that his name would be my Archilles' heel; she was my best friend after all. But I shouldn't let it weaken my resolve to forget about the man who somehow managed to reach into my inner psyche and bring out the Elena I thought I had lost forever, the one who knew how to laugh.

"He can't help me, no one can," I shook my head sadly, my back to her. "Tell Da – tell him to stop trying to save me because it's no use. I'm a lost cause. I'm sorry, Care, but please don't come here again."

My feet barely moved an inch before she grabbed me again, this time on my arm where the flesh was still tender from Mason's ministrations last night. I couldn't help myself; I flinched and jerked my hand away, resisting the urge to rub the sting away to avoid being too obvious about it.

"Elena," the soft voice carried itself to my ears from a distance, and my head involuntarily lifted towards the direction it came from, despite my willpower to not let his voice affect me. I hadn't seen him or heard from him in weeks, but that was because I blocked all his calls to me. But that didn't mean that I didn't have a list of missed calls from both him and Caroline in my phone. I knew they were just trying to help me, but I _couldn't_ let them….wouldn't. I would lose Mason if I did.

I knew that I was in trouble the moment our eyes met across the distance. He had gotten out of his car and was running towards me, but the instant our gaze connected, he stopped dead in his tracks, as if whatever he saw made him afraid to come any closer. I couldn't help it; hope flared inside my chest knowing that he was still here even after all this time and the distance that I forced between us, and it made me wished that things would change for the better.

It made me want…more.

I panicked a little when a voice at the back of my head added _"With Damon…"_ at the end of my epiphany, and I hastily pushed those evil thoughts aside. I didn't want anything to do with the raven-haired man who was staring at me like he wanted to sprint over and tuck me under his wings and never let go. I shouldn't but seeing him again almost made me _want_ him to.

_No_.

"Please, don't," I whispered brokenly, feeling my heart aching as my self-control hung on by a thread, warning him to keep his distance for fear that I would crumble at his feet, begging him to make everything alright again. Knowing that that was a very real possibility scared the hell out of me, so I broke our eye contact and fled. Back to my cocoon, back behind the walls that kept me safe and hidden from everyone.

Everyone but Mason.

* * *

Dinner was ready and on the table. The laundry was done and put away. The living room and our bedroom were spotless. Everything was in place except for the man of the house.

Mason was late.

I sat at my usual seat at the dining table and sighed as the clock chimed eleven times, officially making him tardy for four hours. That was two hundred and forty minutes of free time spent restlessly trying not to think of a certain blue-eyed man, but failing miserably anyway. I had kept myself busy after my unexpected encounter with him and my best friend earlier, but now, just having to sit and wait for my boyfriend to come home made my mind wander. It was an unwelcomed reprieve, one that I would rather have spent getting my legs waxed, one hair follicle at a time just to keep my mind occupied instead of persistently straying to Damon.

I had done so well, too, keeping thoughts of the subject matter locked up tight in a small corner of my mind, until today. It was as if he had a way of working his way out of whatever deep crevices my mind stored him in; he always found his way back to the forefront.

Perhaps that was why I was getting increasingly angry at my absent boyfriend as each minute passed, cursing him for forcing me to consider an alternative life, one that had me wondering if I would have dated Damon had I met him under different circumstances. Would we have bonded so quickly and so deeply if we hadn't spent so much time alone in a hospital? Would he have cared for me if he wasn't obligated to help me due to the nature of his job? Were the sparks that seemed to fly between us whenever he was near real? Or were they just a by-product of my own imagination, testing my feelings and loyalty for Mason?

The sound of squealing tires and loud roar of a car engine snapped me out of my forbidden thoughts, before a set of headlights illuminated the living room through the windows. Moments later, a clearly wasted Mason staggered through the door, his steps heavy as he swayed drunkenly to the couch, knocking various items off the walls in his wake. I hurried over, wrapping an arm under his armpit to support him, almost crumbling under his weight until he crashed onto the cool leather, pulling me down along with him.

His body crushed mine under him, and I gagged when his alcohol-induced breath swept across my face, so I pushed him off with all my strength until I could wriggle my way out. "You went drinking _again_?" I asked as I frowned upon his flushed face, anger rising in my chest. I shook my head in disbelief, wondering if things were _ever_ going to change between us. Was this what the future held for me, not knowing when he'd go back on his word?

"Oh, quit with the judgey eyes!" he groaned. "I had a couple of drinks with my nephew and now I'm home. I'm hungry, where's my dinner?" With a low grunt, he pulled himself up, half-sitting and half-reclining against the backrest as if it required a great effort. _A couple of drinks, my ass. _

"Dinner was _four_ hours ago! You didn't call, you didn't text, and you didn't even pick up your phone when _I_ called three hours ago. What happened to not drinking again? You gave me your word, Mason." Accusation was dripping with every word, and it was the first time that I stood up to him in weeks, maybe even months, but I didn't care. It was the most alive I ever felt, and it was great to feel my blood pumping from the indignation that _this_ time, I wasn't at fault. He broke his promise and I wanted to let him know that it wasn't okay.

Instead of feeling chastised, he released a loud snort, mocking me. "So? We were celebrating his break-up with that annoying blonde bitch and I say good riddance! I don't know what he ever saw in her in the first place. Maybe she gives good head or something," he laughed to himself, his heavy-lidded eyes now almost closing. I suddenly envisioned myself giving him a power-packed punch to his solar plexus, just like Damon taught me, but then I might end up with five dislocated knuckles instead so I reined in my temper and concentrated on the shocking revelation.

"Ty and Care broke up? When _was_ this?" I asked with a frown, wondering if Caroline had approached me earlier that afternoon to tell me the news. Instantly, shame washed through me as I thought about how I turned her away, assuming that she was here to convince me to leave Mason again. She probably needed a friend to talk to and I ignored her, too wrapped up in my own drama to even notice if she was hurting, too. I was a lousy friend.

"I don't know…after he caught her cheating on him, I guess, and then he dumped her ass and then we went for a little celebratory drink. He has moved on by now, with that hot little piece of ass we met at the bar. He's probably forgotten all about your bimbo friend the second he took off with her," he muttered, a smug smile tugging on his lips.

Caroline cheating on Tyler? No freaking way! "You don't know what you're talking about. Care would _never_ cheat on Tyler, not in a million years! And stop calling her all those names, she doesn't deserve them. You have _no_ idea the kind of person she is, and that's because you never made the effort to get to know her."

Mason scoffed, his eyes opening a little as they regarded me as if I was a naïve little child. "Oh please, spare me the lecture. What do _you_ care, anyway? She's not your friend anymore, is she? How do you know she hasn't been running around meeting some guy behind Ty's back, huh? Apparently, he found proof of their secret rendezvous in her phone, too. Not so smart to leave such incriminating evidence lying around, huh?" he sneered, his loud cackle making my hands clench into fists at my sides as I experienced a real temptation to knock the daylights out of my own boyfriend. Oh God, what if _I_ had violent tendencies, too?

"Think what you want, but I'll go see her tomorrow and get the truth out of her somehow. I don't believe that she'd do that to Tyler, not even for a second."

My defiance roused him from his half-awake mind, his rapidly changing mood swings rearing its ugly head again, now further fueled by alcohol as he dragged himself up to tower over me. "You will do no such thing! You chose _me_ over her, remember? And she's only now showing her true colors, that she can't be trusted. I don't want you to see her or talk to her again, and I mean it!" The intensity of his eyes made me cower backwards but his hands wrapped securely around my wrists to keep me in place. "Elena," he breathed, his voice dripping with danger, "if you defy me, I'll make sure that you won't be able to sit for a week, and you have my _word_ on that."

I shivered against my will at his threat, swallowing nervously as I waited for his next course of action, praying that he wouldn't punish me for something I hadn't even done yet. We stood there, just staring at each other, his gaze challenging me as if to dare me to disagree, and mine was merely wary, waiting for what comes next. Then, he flung my hands aside as if repulsed by the touch of my skin and stormed upstairs, his heavy steps still unsteady as he made his way to our bedroom, ordering me to clear up the mess in the hall and the dining hall as he went.

Absentmindedly, I massaged my sore wrists as I stood frozen in the middle of the living room, my entire body shuddering with relief that I had managed to escape unhurt this time. But what about the _next_ time? At the rate we were going, there was bound to be a next time. It happens even when I was being meek and agreeable. So, what did it matter if I defied him this one time? My best friend needed me and it was my turn to be there for her, after all she'd done for me in the past. Despite what I said to her that day in my room, it hurt like hell to destroy our friendship that we had spent years building. And now she was hurting, and possibly crying over her break-up with Tyler. Yes, I would go to Caroline and be the friend that I was to her, before this whole mess with Mason screwed up our relationship.

My mind made up, I glanced over at the fallen items on the floor from when Mason knocked them over earlier, and my rebellious nature made an appearance. They were _his_ mess, so he should clean them up himself. Moving over to the dining area, I looked around at the uneaten food left on the plates, now cold and no doubt, soggy. I robotically started stacking them up, but then stopped myself, another thought occurring to me. It was Mason's fault that we missed dinner, so why should I clear up after all my hard work went into preparing it for him like a good housewife? Defiantly, I left them as they were before. It would serve Mason right if he woke up to a tableful of rotting food.

Now that I was on a rebellious streak, another idea came to mind. As drunk as he was, Mason would wake up to a massive hangover, so naturally, he would go looking for that bottle of aspirin in the medicine cabinet. I couldn't help but hug myself as I made my way to the bathroom, quickly locating the labelled bottle and without further hesitation, proceeded to dump the contents into the toilet bowl and flushed them down, watching the swirling water drag the white tablets down along with them. I smiled triumphantly as I imagined the pounding headache that would plague him the whole day and congratulated myself for my childish prank.

I crept into the bedroom to find Mason sprawled faced-down on the bed diagonally, still fully-clothed and drooling on the comforter. The meek and submissive Elena would have taken off his shoes and maybe changed him into more comfortable sleep wear, but this new and improved version couldn't be bothered.

Making my way over to the wardrobe, I pulled out a small overnight bag and packed some clothes and toiletries, just in case Mason found my insubordination unforgiveable and decided to kick me out of the house. It was time to be more pro-active and let him know that I wasn't a pushover, always there to just wait for his instructions and carry them out as if I was a damn robot. I sure as hell wasn't a Buffybot – or an Elenabot, programmed to cater to his every command! If he really loved me, he would not hold it against me if I decided to be a friend to Caroline while she went through this horrible time. Essentially, I _had_ chosen Mason over her, but right now, she needed a friend. For this particular time, I would choose a friendship that spanned over ten years over my boyfriend of two years. He just _had_ to understand that, or otherwise, I'd be homeless.

I clung onto the hope that Caroline would take me in after how I treated her. After all, I had nowhere else to go, no money to even rent a room at a motel somewhere for however long it would take for Mason to come to his senses. Until then, he would just have to accept the fact that I wasn't going to take his treatment of me lying down.

Yes, Mason was in for a very rude awakening.

* * * _Abuse is a form of bullying_* * *

After a restless night of tossing and turning on the couch, I snuck out of the quiet house before Mason awoke, still too early for his alarm to go off. I grabbed my bag and made my way to the waiting cab I had called earlier, after slyly switching off the water mains outside the house, hoping to piss off Mason even further by denying him his morning shower. I had hoped that he would come to a realization quickly that his life fell apart the moment I stepped out of the house, and he would come crawling on his knees, begging me to forgive the error of his ways. It would also help if he had flowers in one hand and a diamond ring on another, proclaiming how empty his life was without me in it.

Okay, maybe I had an overactive imagination, but it was a romantic notion to be needed so badly by a man, to be loved unconditionally, to be cherished. On the completely opposite end of the spectrum, I also considered what if Mason decided that he didn't love me enough, thinking that he was better off without me instead. Then I would have lost the person I loved, along with a home and any hope for an education. I would have to give up college and find a job to support myself. I knew that I had to do it sooner or later, but the thought was still daunting.

It was with trepidation that I exited from the cab, with my bag in hand and I made my way up the path that led to Care's house, my mind occupied with worry. I had no idea what kind of reception I would get from my former best friend, but I hoped that she would at least accept my apology and let me be there for her while she recovered from this breakup.

I drew up short when I noticed her front door left wide open, alarm taking over my body at the thought of Caroline coming to some harm, or if I was about to walk into a robbery in progress. Without careful consideration, I ran right through the doorway, expecting to find the blonde tied up in a chair or maybe a grovelling Tyler begging her to forgive him. Instead, I saw the last thing I expected to see; an embracing couple.

I really thought I might die from the range of emotions that ran through me at that moment, when I saw my best friend standing in the arms of _him_; Damon. I just stood frozen near the entrance, my eyes refusing to look away from the intimate scene before me. Obviously, Caroline just woke up, her hair a dishevelled mess and still wearing her silky robe, while Damon was decked out in his usual attire, dark clothes and leather jacket to match. They looked cosy together, as if they had spent an entire night in each other's arms, and I was merely witnessing the morning after, when he was about to leave for work to save more damsels.

Mason was right. The person that Care cheated on Tyler with was Damon; _my_ Damon, my mind screamed possessively in my head. I was incredulous, I was disgusted, I was angry that Mason was right about her, but there was also one more emotion that registered in me as I stared unblinkingly at the couple. Deep, deep down in the pits of my stomach, something inside me flipped a switch and I realize that the aching pain I felt was jealousy. The instant I recognized that emotion, guilt swept through me, as I knew that I wasn't _supposed_ to feel jealous.

I had a boyfriend. He was at home, probably realizing by now that I was missing. He might have been worried about me, maybe not even realizing what happened the previous night that made me want to teach him a lesson. But now I was the one who was being taught a lesson. I shouldn't trust anyone, not Damon, not my best friend and not myself. _I_ was the one who came up with this stupid idea in the first place. _I_ was the reason why I'm standing in a house, wanting to push the blonde away from Damon's embrace and maybe swing a fist at her, too.

The sudden ringing of my phone penetrated through my dazed mind, effectively alerting the couple to another presence in the room with them. Two heads snapped over to meet my eyes, but I was only focused on one person; him. Shock and panic registered in his expression the moment he saw me there, and he stepped back from Caroline guiltily, but I had already seen enough to know that I made a huge mistake to come here in the first place. Ignoring the familiar sound of Mason's customized ringtone, I whirled right around, intending to see if the cab had left yet only to be disappointed to find that it had.

Regardless, I still didn't stop, I just knew that I had to get out of there pronto, even if I had to jog all the way back home to face Mason's wrath. I'd take his temper tantrums and alpha male dominance anytime over this wrenching ache I felt in my chest. I didn't even understand why I felt so betrayed. He meant _nothing_ to me, nothing more than a casual acquaintance whom I befriended for a brief time of my life. Fine, he meant more to me than that, but he wasn't mine to agonize over losing in the first place. Everything was just so wrong.

"Elena!" his voice carried over to me as I reached the fencing that surrounded the Forbes' residence. Belatedly, I noticed his Camaro parked at the front of the yard, and I wondered how I missed seeing it when I arrived earlier. Oh right, I was too distracted worrying about whether or not my so-called best friend would forgive me. Funny how that turned out.

I increased my pace as my feet encountered the sidewalk, intending to break out into a full-speed run away from him, away from her, and away from the house that before served as a safe haven. With my heart thundering in my ears, I took off like the Devil was right on my tail, feeling the wind in my face as I left that part of my life behind. I didn't get far before the Devil himself caught me, when my vision blurred, the world tilted and then darkness consumed me. The last thing I heard was a frantic yell, "Elena, no!" and then pain exploded in my head.

* * *

**First, I have to apologize for stopping the story there. I had some urgent stuff to take care of and wanted to update before the weekend was over. I hope that you guys will understand.**

**So what did you think happened? Did Elena get hit by a car? A bus? Mason?**

**Did I pull my favourite trick and killed her off? **

**You're right, I wouldn't kill her, but maybe Mason would. **

**Would you like to wait a week to find out? *pause* I didn't think so. **

**Remember that urgent thing I mentioned earlier? Yeah, I had to write the rest of the story.**

**Here it is! You're welcome. :D **

**(I know, you want to kill me! I'm nothing if not mean!)**

* * *

Coffee.

That was the first thing that registered in my mind when I came to. That, and then feeling like I had been run over by a truck…twice!

I heard low murmurs beside me, so I concentrated on what was being said while figuring out how to get my eyes open, and that was when it hit me; somebody was holding my hand. Immediately, two things came to my attention, the first being that it meant that I _wasn't_ paralyzed, and the second being that it felt familiar and comforting.

"Oh thank God! She's coming to," the low urgent voice closest to me said and the grip on my hand tightened simultaneously. How did he know that, I wondered. My eyes weren't even open yet, and I was certain that I hadn't uttered a single word since I regained consciousness. "Elena?" the same voice said, concern evident in his tone. "Hey, can you open your eyes for me, please?"

I was going to open them anyway, so he better not think that I was doing him any special favors! "Elena?" he whispered, sounding even closer to me now. I could even smell his aftershave and everything!

I pried my eyes open with great effort; they seemed heavy and uncooperative. There were two identical faces that appeared before me and I frowned when they both spoke at once. "Are you okay? Does it hurt?" I didn't like the echo effect and I wished that they would speak one at a time, and stop moving around so much. I was getting nauseous just looking at them!

My eyes closed again, but still it seemed as if the room was spinning. Okay, that was not better at all. I opened them again, and this time, I watched in a confused daze when the twin visions combined into one frazzled looking Damon Salvatore. Seeing him in full HD mode brought everything back at once; the memory of an embracing couple, the hurt and betrayal that I felt as I watched them, and then the gut-wrenching pain as I ran away. My eyes teared up at the onslaught of memories, and I snatched my hand back from his grasp, noticing his surprise at my abruptness.

"What happened?" I asked, struggling to sit up and then wincing in pain before his hands gently held me down by my arms, prohibiting my movement.

"You fainted, Elena. I'm sorry, but I didn't get to you in time and you hit the pavement rather hard," he explained in a low voice, his expression wary of my reaction to his touch. "You shouldn't move so much because we have no idea what kind of injuries you might have, in addition to the ones you were already sporting."

His words made me feel guilty for some reason, and I didn't know why that was. Either he or Caroline must have made an inventory list of my battle wounds while I was out, and I somehow felt guilty to Mason for letting them see my still healing bruises. I glanced down on my attire and was surprised that someone had changed me into my pajamas; an old tee-shirt and shorts. I must have blushed because Damon hurriedly stood up and said, "Caroline cleaned you up and changed your clothes because they were soiled from your fall."

"Elena, we were so worried about you! I'm glad that you're here now. Did you leave Mason?" my former best friend said from behind him, making her way over to sit on the edge of the bed I was in, the spot that Damon recently vacated. Luckily, she was no longer in her robe, but was now attired in her usual cute little outfits. So, they were 'we-people' now, huh? That was what a couple would say a lot – 'we', followed with a lot of 'us' and 'our'. I've had enough of this shit; I needed to go home and go back to my life with Mason.

I sat up quickly despite the protest of all my muscles, and I waited for the throbbing at the side of my head to cease before I stood up, intending to grab my bag, wherever it was, and go on home.

"Do you need something?" she asked, not taking the hint that I wasn't in the mood to speak to her. She was a cheater and a Damon-stealer. Okay, that wasn't fair; she was just a cheater then, and also a liar. Why did she feel the need to hide the fact that she was seeing Damon? If she told me outright, I wouldn't have been so pissed off. Tyler was my friend, too. He didn't deserve to find out through a phone!

"Yeah, I need to _not_ be here!" I snapped, and I noted with satisfaction when she gaped at me in shock.

"What's wrong? Aren't you here to get away from Mason?" Caroline wondered, exchanging a puzzled look with her other half, the silent man standing beside her.

If I wasn't nauseous before when the room was spinning, I was sure that I was about to hurl right there, in her face. That did it! I could feel it coming up and I couldn't stop it. But instead of upchucking my guts out, I purged a whole statement instead. "I'm here because I've been a crappy friend and I wanted to make it up to you by being here for you after Tyler broke up with you, but instead, I found you in _his_ arms instead!" I accused, pointing a finger at the frowning Damon, all the while refusing to even look at him. "I can't believe that Mason was right about you; you cheated on Ty with Da – _him_, and he had to find out through your phone? I really can't believe you, Care. And I wouldn't have thought it possible if I hadn't seen you two snuggling with my own eyes."

Nobody said a word after my accusation. I knew I had them; it was no use for them to deny it now.

Caroline burst out laughing, to my complete and utter shock, while Damon just continued to gaze at me with an indescribable expression. It seemed as if he was sad or something. "Oh my God, I can't believe that coward! Ughh, now I'm sure that I made the right choice by dumping that ass wipe yesterday!" she declared, shaking her head at me. "_I _broke up with Tyler, Elena. He thought that I was running around with Damon behind his back when all we did was to keep an eye on you. Remember yesterday, in your front yard, when I showed up? Yeah, Damon and I, we were kind of stalking you, just a little. We were very worried about you, especially since you haven't been to one class this week."

What did I say earlier? There's that 'we' word again…three times in that statement alone. "Okay, so if you weren't cheating on him, then why didn't you just explain it to him and make up? And what about what I saw earlier, the two of you, being all cuddly?" The image of the both of them wrapped up in each other's arms appeared again in my head, and so did the unbearable ache along with it.

"Well, he didn't exactly give me a chance to. He got…..violent and he smashed my phone into pieces," she said in a small voice, and I saw her face fell at her admission. I knew first-hand how hard it was to disclose that your boyfriend had such violent tendencies, and I had to admit that I was surprised at the news. I didn't peg Tyler for someone who would be angry enough to smash anything, but then Mason didn't appear that way either. Maybe the Lockwoods had a genetic defect that turned them into part-time monsters after two years of relationships.

"That punk hit her was what she meant to say," Damon spoke up then, his arms folded defensively in front of his chest. He seemed angry and yet worried. I suspected that the anger part was for Care, and the worried part was for me. Hearing that my best friend was hit made me forget about the animosity I felt towards her before. Someone laid a hand on Caroline and I immediately went into protective best friend mode.

"Oh my goodness, are you okay? What did he do? Did he hurt you?" I asked, pulling her in for a comforting hug before letting my eyes peruse over her fair skin, finding relief when I didn't find anything out of the ordinary.

She nodded and sighed, "I'm fine now, but it was an eye-opening experience, that's for sure. I could barely drag myself out of bed this morning, and I only did it because Damon here seems to think that my front door is not dented enough, what with all the relentless knockings! I now know how you feel, Elena, but I still can't understand why you waited so long before you dumped Mason's sorry ass."

Hearing her assumption, I averted my gaze, only to meet Damon's instead. The fact that he only arrived sometime before I did, did wonders for my peace of mind. _So, he didn't stay the night with her_, I noted with relief. I think that he remains as the _one_ person who could read me like a book because he then said, "You didn't dump Mason, did you? You're still going back to him, aren't you?"

I was pretty sure my face gave away my answers, because then, Caroline gasped and begged me to reconsider. "You can't go back to him, Elena! You just _barely_ got out! I saw the bruises on your neck yesterday and your arms were sore, too, right? Don't you see that he won't stop hurting you unless you do something about it? To force him to change? Maybe if you stayed here for a while, send a message that you're not going to stay in an abusive relationship unless he makes a real effort to curb his need to make you into his personal punching bag, then you'd reconsider taking him back," she suggested eagerly, sensing my doubt whether to go home or to stay.

"Care's right, you know?" Damon said quietly from the spot he'd been standing on ever since he left my side. "You've given Lockwood more than enough time to get his act together already, and if the situation hasn't improved by now, chances are, it never will. You can be the most perfect girlfriend in the world, and yet he'll still manage to find faults with you, to penalize you if only to _justify_ taking his anger out on you. It's not about you or what you think you did wrong, Elena. It's about him and his addiction to having power over you, of bending you to his will because he _knows _that you'll let him get away with it."

A previous memory of a concerned Damon appeared unbidden in my mind; we were all in my bedroom – Caroline, that detective, and Damon - he was looking at me anxiously, his last words echoing in a loop. "_Once you stop being so stubborn, you'll understand that the man you used to love is no longer there, so stop trying to find him again_," he had said.

His words didn't make sense at the time, but now I realized that there might be some truth in them. I _had_ been stubborn. I refused to see the truth before my eyes, preferring to hang onto the faith that things _would_ change simply because they must. I kept expecting Mason to magically transform into the old Mason that I lost sight of the fact that maybe _I _should change, not to please him but to make him see what he'd be missing if I left him, for real. Not just to teach him a lesson but to prove a point. I tried everything else before this, from cutting off access to my friends, to changing my personality to suit him, but nothing worked so far. Maybe I _should_ just walk out for the time being and let him know that he shouldn't have taken me for granted. It was a risky move but it might finally wake him up.

My decision made, I felt a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. I knew in my heart that my leaving wouldn't last forever, not if he was truly sorry for his actions and willing to make the effort to return to the man he was once. It would take a grand gesture for me to even consider going back to him, but it would be a start. This time, Mason had to change for me, instead.

I lifted my eyes to Caroline's anxious ones, eager to know if their double-teamed efforts worked or if they should press the issue further. "How long can I stay here?" I inquired finally, and two huge sighs of relief released simultaneously from my rescuers with stalking tendencies.

"As long as you want! Forever, if need be!" Caroline squealed triumphantly, wrapping me into a tight hug, only to release me when I let out a loud "Owww". "Do you know why you fainted just now?" she asked as she examined my face worriedly, noting the dark circles under my eyes.

I considered her question and could only think of two possible reasons. "I didn't have dinner last night and couldn't sleep much, worrying about you, and I guess with the running and the adrenaline surge, maybe my body just shut down from the stress. I _hope_ that's it."

"I hope you don't mind, but I called Mer - Dr. Fell, and told her that you passed out and scraped yourself pretty badly, so she'll be dropping by within the hour to check you out, just for my peace of mind. I'm sure you're fine, maybe just dehydrated and stressed out, like you said," Damon shrugged casually, but I knew that he was beyond worried about my health, especially after seeing the number of faded bruises on my body, all courtesy of Mason. "Oh, and she's doing this as a favor, so you don't have to worry about medical fees or such," he added as an afterthought. How did he know that it was one of my main concerns? Was he some kind of a mind-reader? Was he Edward Cullen, except, the non-sparkly version?!

"Okay, I'm gonna call and let my mom know about our unlimited slumber parties while you take it easy until the doctor arrives, deal? Then when you're all better, we're going to do a cleansing ritual of all things Lockwood-related in nothing but our sleepwear! Unfortunately, Damon, you're not invited. I'm afraid it's a best friends-only event. Sorry," Caroline flashed a cheeky smile at him and then left the room, leaving me in my cute pjs and a reluctantly amused Damon.

"You know, I don't think she's really all that sorry at all. But the joke's on her; if I showed up in my sleepwear, you girls are going to see me in my birthday suit and it's really cold out," he teased, a small smile tugging at his lips. Then, his serious expression returned as he studied me thoughtfully. "Umm, I know this is completely random, but I just have to tell you this," he swallowed nervously, and my eyes followed his adam's apple in fascination as he appeared to be having difficulty getting the words out. "You have to know that what you saw before, when we were hugging…she was just upset over Tyler and she needed a friend, so I…I just…it didn't mean…. it's not -"

"It's not any of my business," I finished for him, amazed that I managed to keep my voice steady at all since my emotions were all over the place whenever I let myself remember the scene I had walked in on. "I'm sorry if I judged you too harshly earlier, but your relationship with Caroline is really not my concern." The truth was, it was my _biggest_ concern, but it was wrong for it to even _be_ a concern, so I played it cool, even though I was dying inside.

He nodded jerkily, accepting my apology and for a long time, we just stood there, just looking at each other, waiting for the other to say anything further. I shifted my weight awkwardly and then, since he didn't make any move to indicate that he had much else to say, I climbed back into the bed I had vacated earlier, and arranged the blanket around me. He must have taken that as his cue to leave, so he slowly walked to the room door, turning back just before his fingers wrapped around the door knob. "Elena, for what it's worth, I think that you're doing the right thing by putting some distance between you and Lockwood. Things can only get better from this point onwards, right?"

"I hope so," I replied back.

"Me too. And Elena, if you feel up to it, I would like you to meet someone very special to me tomorrow, if that's okay with you."

My heart thudded with fear at his words, a sinking feeling returning to the pits of my stomach. Oh God, he had a wife somewhere, hadn't he?!

* * *

**Don't scroll down anymore; this is really the END of the chapter. So, who do you guys think he'll introduce her to? Someone important? Another victim?**

**Talk to me, people. And oh, happy 4x07 week to you all! I hereby declare it a National Holiday on Thursday, no matter which country you're in. All those in favor, say AYE! **

**My twitter: cgsa_cher in case you want to fangirl with me on all things TVD. **

**Kristi (tukct81), you know I love ya for all that you've done for me as my beta, but can you stop being so perfect and awesome? You're making me look bad!**


	8. Chapter 8

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Care for an angst-less chapter? Yeah, me neither. But this is one of my tamer chapters, if you can call it that. Also, sorry for the late update, but I blame TVD. That ending scene in 4x07 screwed with my head so much that I was rendered useless other than watching it and listening to THAT song on a constant loop. But I'm now here, albeit still somewhat dazed and loopy. **

**Anyway, all hail Ed Sheeran and the most DE-appropriate song ever! **

**I trust everyone has somewhat recovered from seeing DE's horizontal (and sometimes vertical) mambo. I tweeted this already but I thought it bore repeating: Even if Elena was turned by Stefan's blood, DE is still ENDGAME. They just have a tough time getting there. (I wrote this before the 4x08 episode)**

* * *

**A Woman's Worth: Chapter EIGHT**

_Damon's POV_

"I hereby call the first meeting for the Rescue Mission of Miss Elena Gilbert to order," I announced to the four people who were all gathered around the living room of the Forbes' residence, all staring at me in various degrees of amusement; Blondie, Mer, and the two Tweedle twins. "First task of the day, retrieve Elena – henceforth referred to as the 'Target'," I paused for dramatic effect and then took a deep breath before triumphantly announcing, "I am pleased to declare that the retrieval mission of said target has been monumentally successful. Bravo, everyone."

My beaming smile was copied by my blonde partner-in-crime, who clapped enthusiastically with only the tips of her fingers while the rest exchanged puzzled looks. "Errr, Damon, is it considered as a retrieval mission when Ele - I mean the target practically walked right into the house on her own?" Ever the pragmatic doctor, it was Meredith who posed the question, earning her an eye roll from me.

"Technicalities!" I replied defensively, refusing to be deterred from my optimistic point of view now that Elena was safely out of harm's way, where I could keep an eye on her. _Both_ eyes, if I had my way, and twenty-four seven, if at all possible. "Moving on, at the risk of crossing the line into your doctor-patient thingamajig, what are the medical findings on the target's overall health status, Doc?"

"Well, I've washed and treated the cuts and scrapes from her fall, and it looks like her older bruises were already healing anyway, but I'm more worried about the fact that she's lost almost ten pounds since she was at the hospital," said the petite brunette with furrowed brows. "Elena's clearly dehydrated, exhausted and suffering from malnutrition as well, but on top of that, I think that she's also emotionally drained from everything that's happened to her."

I balked at the thought of _her_ upstairs in the guest room, alone and unwell, so I slid off the couch, intending to go and check on her but Mer waved me back down again. "Don't bother, Damon. I gave her some pills so that she could rest, but just make sure that she eats small but regular meals and has plenty of water, and she should be fine in a few days. I would advise for complete bed rest before she goes back to college, though," Meredith informed Blondie, who in turn nodded in agreement, looking relieved that Elena's fainting spell wasn't due to anything too serious.

"Will she be alright on her own? I mean, I have classes that I can't miss and I also have errands to run for my mom," Caroline asked worriedly, meeting my eyes briefly, but it was enough for me to catch her unspoken concern. What if Mason showed up at the house and convinced Elena to go back with him?

Nope, that wasn't gonna happen under _my_ watch! "I'll be here to keep an eye on…things, just in case, you know?" I gave a small nonchalant shrug, attempting to look casual about it, as if I was merely offering to run to the store to pick up some milk. No big deal. However, I forgot to mention that the two people who knew me best were sitting right across from me, smirking at one another.

"Aww, look at our little Dee Dee, all grown-up and wearing his big boy hero pants now, Elijah," Ric grinned teasingly, nudging the man beside him in his enthusiasm to mock me. I rolled my eyes at the return of an old nickname that Ric gave me during high school, reminding me of the time that I used to chase after girls with huge knockers. Yes, I used to be a teenage pervert, but which boy wasn't at one point or another in their lives?

To my surprise, the usually serious Elijah returned Ric's smile, turning to gaze at me with what appeared like an affectionate look, as if he was a proud parent, watching his little boy grow up to be a decent man, or at least one who caught a prized marlin or something. "I know," he sighed, flashing me a lopsided grin as one of his hand flew up to cover over his heart, "our Dee Dee is so completely and utterly in love with Ele-, sorry, the target, isn't he? Do you need our blessing? Because I approve whole-heartedly, _son_."

And with that, the two Tweedles burst out in loud guffaws while the two ladies giggled at my expense. Great, so apparently _everybody_ knew of my stupid, inappropriate crush on my charge and I was certain that I wouldn't be hearing the end of it anytime soon.

"Gee, thanks, _Ma_ and _Pa_," I replied sarcastically, convinced that my face was now red. "Knock it off, you two, before Elena hears you and thinks that I'm helping her for the wrong reasons. You were right, Ric. I should not let anything distract me from treating her like any other woman who needs my help, so I'll be here for her on a strictly professional level. I'm just her friend from now on," I announced with firm resolve, intending to disregard my real feelings and just focus on nursing Elena back to health while making sure that she doesn't get within ten feet from Lockwood.

And maybe get to hug her a little bit.

"Ahh, if _that's_ not true love, then I don't know what is. I can't even remember the last time I'm willing to be 'just friends' with a girl I was crazy about, do you, Ric?" Elijah pursed his lips in contemplation.

"Dude, my girlfriend's sitting right there," Ric muttered while flashing him a warning look, shifting his eyes to and from the doctor.

"Yes, well, she already knows what a dick you are, so I think you're good," I interjected smoothly, not wanting to be the only one being made fun of, but then I also didn't expect for the four of them to band together against me either. I blamed Caroline, naturally. She was supposed to be on _my_ side, the traitor! We were Starsky and Hutch no more!

Scoffing softly, the sandy-haired man merely sat back and regarded me openly. "Better to be a dick than to_ have_ one and not being able to use it, what with this newfound restraint of yours. How long has it been since your last relationship, if you can even call it that?"

"If by relationship, you meant having sex, then last Sunday, with Erina and Erica, the twins," I said with a playful wriggle of my brows, taking pride in the fact that I was able to shock my group of friends. They're such a gullible bunch; it was almost too easy.

"You had sex with _twins_ when you're supposedly in love with my best friend?" Blondie screeched in shock, and in a moment of alarm, I glanced at the staircase in case Elena heard her and decided to come downstairs to see what the racket was about. "Damon, that's so-so-so….slutty of you!" she exclaimed after a lengthy pause to find a suitable word to describe my actions. "I'm not going to ship you and Elena now if you're going to just cheat on her with twins! That's just wrong…_hot_, but still wrong."

"Yeah, I'm with Caroline on this one, Damon. I'm not sure I can risk my patient getting heartbroken if you insist to be a man-whore around her, which is a shame, too. You're both totes adorbs together," Meredith piped in, channeling her inner Valley-girl while batting her eyelashes at me. Normally, it would be far beneath me to admit that I understood the teenage slang used to describe Elena and I, but I agreed with the Doc wholeheartedly on this point. We _were_ totes adorbs!

Unable to stop myself from beaming with pleasure, I attempted a half-assed comeback even though I felt like giggling like a little girl while jumping up and down with excitement at the prospect of an 'Elena-and-I' someday. Oh hell, I did it in my head anyway, where no one could bear witness to my less than manly act. "Sorry, but I don't speak 'teen'. You ladies have it all wrong anyway. Let me introduce you to the twins…"

I sauntered my way over to where the ladies were seated and squeezed into the small space between them, drawing an exchange of puzzled glances from them. "Mer, meet Erina, formerly known as my right hand, the slutty nurse from North Carolina ," I quipped as I wriggled the fingers of said hand in front of her before slinging the same arm around her shoulders and then repeating the same for the _other_ hand, only around Blondie this time. "And _this, _Care Bear, is the extremely talented, five-fingered Erica, the hot cheerleader from Long Island. Go team!" I sneered, propping my ankles on the edge of the coffee table as I leaned back on the couch and squeezed both their shoulders with my self-named 'twins'.

"Ewww!" exclaimed both ladies simultaneously when they realized what I meant. "And you probably did it in your 'Masturbate Room', too," Blondie groaned as I playfully wrapped my arms tighter around their necks as they struggled to free themselves, chuckling as I caught Ric's jealous glare.

Suddenly, Ric's eyes drifted to a spot behind me and he stammered, "Oh, umm, h-hi Elena. Did we wake you?"

My reaction was instant. I jumped to my feet guiltily, pushing both ladies roughly away so that they were sprawled on opposite ends of the couch as I wracked my head for an excuse. I turned around, expecting to see an exhausted-looking Elena, but she was nowhere in sight.

Shit. With friends like these…..

That was when the chorus of laughter hit my ears. The four buffoons were practically rolling around in their seats as they took pleasure in Ric's ploy to scare the living daylights out of me. Nice.

"Real mature, guys," I said, rolling my eyes in disgust as I then lowered myself into an armchair, a fair distance away from the idiots.

"Hey, _you_ were the one who named your hands," Elijah gasped out, wiping tears of hilarity from his eyes. Truthfully, I was a little freaked out by that sight. It almost made him seem human as oppose to the straight-faced, unfeeling man I met over a decade ago.

"…and gave them personalities while you go to town on yourself," Ric piped in. Seriously, why was I best friends with these two idiots again?

"If it's any consolation to you, and I say this as the highest order of compliment to your great taste in women, I was fantasizing about your girlfriend the whole time," I smirked, finding satisfaction when his playful grin disappeared soon after, followed by a giggle from the woman in question, probably feeling flattered as hell.

Then the chime of a bell grabbed our attention, resulting in Blondie's hasty approach towards the main door.

"Saved by the bell," Ric muttered, shooting daggers at me through his eyes. I was not intimidated in the least. Okay, maybe just a _tiny_ smidgeon, but only because he was sitting very close to Elijah who owned a gun.

I was just about to retort that I didn't need a freaking bell to save me, when Blondie's raised voice reached my ears, sounding increasingly upset, followed by a familiar male voice. The four of us remaining in the living room exchanged worried looks and then as a unit, we stood up and joined a frazzled-looking Caroline at the door.

Well, well, if it wasn't the Devil himself.

Lockwood's jaw clenched the moment he spied me through the opened door, his intense dislike for me rolling off of him in waves. The feeling was mutual, only magnified a thousand fold in my case. "Salvatore," he acknowledged, his brows crinkled into a frown. "Why am I not surprised to find you here at my nephew's recently dumped ex-girlfriend's house?"

"Wow, you say it like you've been there and done that. Oh wait," I snapped my fingers and smirked as I strode right up to him, "didn't _your_ girlfriend recently walk out on you? Yes, I believe she _did_. I'd say I'm sorry, but I'm a lousy liar. You should hook up with your nephew if you want to bond over being dumped by the two smartest and amazing women in Mystic Falls."

I could hear two opposing responses coming from somewhere behind me; Caroline's "Aww" and Mer's "Hey!"

Women!

"Elena didn't walk out on me! She's just acting childish, that's all, leaving the house a mess just because I wouldn't allow her to come over. Where is she? I want to see her," he said, trying to push his way into the house by bumping my shoulders, sending me staggering a couple of steps back as I lost my balance. What, I didn't lock my ankles!

"Like hell you are!" Caroline snapped, her blue-green eyes flashing in anger. She was like a protective mama bear looking out for her young cub, while _I _was the papa bear – wait, that analogy was all wrong for the kind of relationship I wanted to have with the cub. And now I just made it ten times worse by connecting the dots. "This is _my_ house and Elena's under _my_ protection now. I also don't recall inviting you in, so why don't you get out of here before Damon kicks your ass, huh?"

That was my cue to act all macho and intimidating, so I straightened my back and puffed out my chest, scowling menacingly at Lockwood as best as I could, but the bastard merely scoffed and ignored us as he entered the foyer. Luckily, the rest of Team Badass stepped in to intervene.

"Mr. Lockwood," Meredith greeted, and he seemed surprise to see the doctor there at the house. As for me, I didn't quite get why Mer had to be so polite to the monster. For me, he would always be referred to as 'Coward', 'Bastard', 'Monster', 'Bully', etc.

"Dr. Fell, what are you doing here?" 'Coward' asked, looking alarmed to see her flanked by two other men in suits. That's right, tough guy. There were f_ive_ of us for Team Elena, if he could even count that high.

"Elena fainted out on the sidewalk this morning and had to get some cuts cleaned up. We also noticed some old bruises on her neck and arms that weren't there when she was in the hospital. Care to explain how she got them?" Oooh, busted!

The bastard had the nerve to pretend to look concerned when he heard about Elena's fainting spell but I knew that he was probably back-flipping with joy on the inside. I was on to him. People like him took joy out of other people's pain.

"I don't know. She probably fell down or something," he shrugged as he shifted his weight to another leg, looking like he wanted to be anywhere else but right here in the foyer, being interrogated by five very protective people who were there mainly to look out for the interest of one girl.

"Elena sure falls down a lot whenever she's around you," I said sarcastically. Really, who did he think he was fooling here?

"Look, dude, I'm here to talk to Elena. What happens between us is none of your business so why don't you move aside?" Really? _Dude_? Seriously, what did Elena ever see in him?

I sensed rather than saw movement from behind me and then I heard Elijah's voice. "What if I make it _my_ business? I'm sorry, how rude of me. I forgot to introduce myself," he said as he discreetly pushed his jacket away to reveal a gun in his hip holster. "I'm _Detective_ Mikaelson, Damon's friend."

I almost laughed out loud at the coward's reaction; his face turned ashen and he turned to look at the door longingly.

"Mason?" a soft voice called out from the top of the stairs.

Of course. Elena.

Another five seconds, and I was certain that he was on the verge of turning around with his tail tucked between his legs, maybe even disappearing from our lives forever, but she had to appear right at that moment. We all turned towards her voice and I was filled with such despair to see how tired she looked, with dark circles under her eyes and her hair all messed up from sleep. Even while looking like she could fall flat on her face at any given moment, she was still the most beautiful woman in the room.

"Elena, I came to talk to you but these guys won't let me in," Lockwood explained hastily. Hmmpf, big tough guy like him, ratting us out to the tiny brunette as if she was capable of changing our minds.

"What are you doing up, Elena? You're supposed to be resting. Didn't the pills make you drowsy?" This time, it was the good doctor that spoke up, her priority being her patient's health first and foremost. She was a really dedicated doctor. I have to remember to tell her that more often.

Elena lifted a hand to rub her temple, as if she had a headache that wouldn't go away. Yes, my dear, that headache is now known as Douchebag Lockwood. Ha ha. Douchebag Lockwood. I crack myself up sometimes.

"They did but I heard voices so I woke up," she said. "It's okay, I need to talk to Mason anyway."

What?! Over all five of our dead bodies! She left him. What else was there to talk about? Maybe I should have gone over the rules of a break-up with her. Obviously, she hadn't broken up with anyone before this. While that was totally adorable, it was time for another one of our talks again, the main topic being 'How To Lose A Guy and Make Sure He _Stays_ Lost!'

I was about to object when Blondie beat me to the punch.

"There will be no talking in my house unless I approve it! Elena, you just collapsed right on my front lawn because this _asshole_ here doesn't care if you eat proper meals or sleep at night, not to mention violently venting his insecurities that I assume, if Tyler's any indication, stem from a small, insignificant penis!"

I watched in helpless amusement as Blondie actually stamped her foot in frustration during her outburst, reminding me of her immense loyalty to her friend and my heart swelled with fondness for the blonde. With her championing Elena, I wasn't worried that my woman would ever return to Lockwood.

"Care, stop," Elena said with a sigh as she made her way down the stairs carefully before she turned her attention to the douchebag. "Can we talk outside?"

All five of us stood by as they moved through the main door, unable to stop Elena from making a potentially huge mistake if she allowed him to sweet-talk his way back with her, but none of us were as obvious as Elijah who was still flashing his weapon not-too discreetly at the nervous man.

As soon as they were out of earshot, we glanced at each other for a moment, wondering what our next course of action should be. As if by mutual agreement, we all moved towards the windows at the same time, each taking our own spot behind the curtains to better spy on our target.

"Damon," Elijah called out after a few minutes without taking his eyes off the couple in the distance. "I don't care how you do it, but build me a solid case against Lockwood so that I can arrest him soon, won't you?"

Before I could respond, I witnessed Lockwood shaking his head angrily at Elena and then stalking off towards his car, with her staring at his back while tears cascaded down her cheeks. I wanted to go to her, to comfort her so badly but I couldn't do it in front of the others. Not after my whole speech about being nothing but her friend. As long as she didn't remain by that monster's side, my job was done unless she sought out my help. Being her case handler didn't require me to offer her a shoulder to cry on, no matter how much I might want to.

"Elena needs you, Care. Go to her," I whispered, feeling my throat constricting with emotions. Wordlessly, Blondie did what I couldn't; she went outside and wrapped her arms around her friend's shoulders and allowed her to weep her heart out against her neck. Then, Caroline led her gently back into the house and upstairs to her room, stroking her back in a comforting gesture as they went.

Belatedly, I realized that I never answered Elijah's question. "Don't worry, Elijah. I'll get you your case. By hook or by crook, I'll get Elena to testify against him in court. Hell, I'll even go so far as to make sure that you'll have a reason to use that gun you're so fond of. That bastard deserves a hole in his gut for hurting her again. _Or_ at the very least, a slap to the face….with a sledgehammer. "

For the first time in years, all three of my friends nodded their heads in agreement. Yes, even the one with the gun.

* * *

I decided to give Elena some time to herself after that heartbreaking scene we all witnessed, so I postponed the outing I had planned for her originally. She was still on the road to recovery – both emotionally and physically.

I spent the next few days setting up camp at the Forbes' residence for the majority of the day, leaving only for the occasional errand for Ric or to go home for a change of clothes and however much sleep I could squeeze in. The truth was that I was worried about Elena, plain and simple. I also missed a decent home cooked meal, one that Blondie's mom, Liz, was kind enough to offer me one evening. Liz was in her forties, also blond, quite attractive for a woman her age and a very successful real estate agent, though she was hardly at home most of the time. When she was, she'd cook up a storm in the kitchen, making my mouth water from the aromas. After my first taste of her talented skills, I was about ready to move in for good.

It didn't take much cajoling on my part to get the story of what transpired between Elena and her ex from Caroline. On the one hand, I was beyond curious to know what they spoke about out on the porch the other day, but on the other, I wondered if Elena would care if I knew seeing as how it was none of my business. Luckily, Caroline didn't think anything of it when I asked her about it one night after Elena had gone to bed right after our daily game of Monopoly, leaving us alone in the den after bidding us goodnight.

"From what I could make out throughout her inconsolable sobbing, Mason was upset that she took off without a word, leaving the house in a mess when he woke up and after he _specifically_ asked her not to come over here. Elena told him that all she wanted to do was to be here for me because of what happened with Ty, and she didn't understand why he had such a problem with that. She also mentioned that he came home drunk despite his promise that he would never drink anymore because of what happened the last time he drank; she ended up in the hospital and almost died," Blondie explained with a weary sigh before she went on.

"She told him that despite his previous pledge that things would be different, despite her sacrifices and the changes she made for him, he still can't seem to accept her as she is and she didn't know what he wanted from her anymore. So, apparently, Mason didn't like what he heard at all, because then he told her that since she made her choice, now he was going to make _his_. Then I couldn't get her to 'fess up anymore since she was already bawling her eyes out."

So, Mason kicked her out of the house. He broke up with _her_, not the other way around. I didn't know why, but that disturbed me. I guess that I would have felt more secure if it was her choice to leave, not his. She was vulnerable right now, but it was the perfect time to show her that she was better off without him. She may not have left the relationship willingly, but I wanted to damn well make sure that she didn't go back, no matter what.

"Hey, do you think that she'll be up for an outing tomorrow? I kind of want to take her somewhere but I didn't think that it was the right timing because of what happened the other day. Think she'll want to get out of the house tomorrow?" I asked after some deliberation.

"Yeah, I don't see why not. Maybe you'll be able to pull her out of this funk. You've always been able to cheer her up when no one else could. I think it's a brilliant idea, Damon," Care said enthusiastically, a little _too_ enthusiastic, if you ask me. I wondered what she had cooking up her sleeves.

"You do know you're coming along, don't you? You're not seriously going to leave me alone with her, right? I mean, what if we ran out of things to talk about? What if she's uncomfortable with me? What if-"

Her eyes twinkled with amusement as she laughed at my apprehension at being out on a 'date' with her best friend, alone and unsupervised. "What are you, a nervous teenager out on his first date with the opposite sex? Chill out, Damon! It's not as if you haven't been out with her before. You'll be fine," she nodded, patting me on the back encouragingly.

"But you're still coming, right? We're Starsky and Hutch…we're partners. You, me and Elena, we're all buddies, aren't we?"

"Yes, but I have classes tomorrow," she replied with an eye roll. "I'm not going to skip classes just to watch you try not to drool over my best friend with a longing look every time you come within ten feet of her. I'll join you guys after my last class at one," she suggested as a compromise instead.

Okay, I could do that. I could survive being alone with Elena until then. All I needed to do was to pick her up in the morning, try not to blurt out my feelings for her before Caroline got there and I would be fine. No problem.

I went home that night and prayed for strength, for willpower, and for the ability to sleep.

* * *

Well, I am officially mad at God for ignoring my last request seeing as how I was up most of the night, tossing and turning while obsessing over what I will say to Elena to convince her to spend the day with me. I considered just dropping by the Forbes' residence and pretended that I didn't realize that Blondie had to attend college, and then asking if she wanted to get out of the house for a bit. Or I could just call her up and ask her. Or I could pretend that I had to work and forgot all about Elena.

Apparently, Blondie knew me a little too well by now and sent me a text message at eight in the morning, saying that Elena was awake and she had agreed to my suggestion for an outing. I was supposed to pick her up in two hours' time.

I jumped out of bed at the thought that I had three whole hours of uninterrupted Elena-time before Blondie joined us and I couldn't stop myself from practically floating to the bathroom for my morning ritual of tooth-brushing and showering. As I half-contemplated whether I should be shaving my legs towards the end of my shower, I wondered if this was what women felt like before a big date with someone they really liked; a little anxiousness, a little excitement, a little scared at the same time. I had all those emotions and more, but of course, I left my legs untouched, manly curls and all.

After spending a long time deliberating on what to wear, I finally decided on my usual black attire and grabbed my trusty leather jacket on the way out. Once I was safely strapped in inside my car, I hooked up my hands-free kit to my iPhone, intending to call Elena to tell her that I was on the way to her just in case she suddenly changed her mind. At least, a part of me _wanted_ her to but the other part, the much bigger part wanted to see her again, to see if our weird bond was still there after everything that Lockwood put her through.

Just as my fingers pressed a button on my phone, a song I hadn't heard since the 90's blasted out through my state-of-the-art sound system, and then a wave of nostalgia hit me as I remembered my earlier childhood, when times were different and much simpler, before all the family drama. I cranked up the volume as the opening notes of 'Baby Got Back' flooded through the car and I rapped my heart out to the song that was the highlight of my younger, carefree days.

"I like big butts and I cannot lie, you other brothers can't deny, when a girl walks in with an itty bitty waist and a round thing on your face," I sang as I channeled my inner gangsta, bouncing around on my seat as I got into the groove, not caring in the least if everyone in Mystic Falls could see me through my window as I drove through town. All my finger gestures were considered cool once, never mind what the music industry came up with recently. If that stupid, annoying 'Oppa Gangnam Style' song was considered as music and the dance was indeed a recognized phenomenon, then I was already much cooler than most people already.

I was in a considerably better mood when I pulled up to the driveway of Blondie's house, only to be met by the very wide grin of one Elena Gilbert. Well, she seemed to be in better spirits than I'd seen her in days, maybe even weeks, so I didn't think anything of it when she hopped in to the passenger's side of my car before I could do the gentlemanly act of opening her car door for her.

"Hey, Damon," she greeted breathlessly, looking as if she was on the verge of bursting out with laughter at any moment.

"Hi," I replied, my eyes taking in her breathtaking smile and glinting doe-eyes with her silky long brown hair. She looked….alive, and it had only been a few seconds in my presence. I should have taken her out sooner. Maybe it was because of the idea of not being cooped up inside a house all day and night. After all, she was a prisoner at the home she shared with Lockwood, so I assumed that she wasn't looking forward to the same treatment by her friends. "You look great!" I complimented without taking my eyes off from her face long enough to even check out her outfit. Just the sight of her elusive smile was enough for me.

"Thanks," she blushed, "but I ain't got no 'juicy doubles' if that's what you're into." She sat there with the cheekiest smile on her face but all I could think about was why the words she used were so familiar.

Well, damn. Juicy doubles. She was quoting the lyrics of my impromptu rap song back to me. But how did -?

I glanced at my phone, and that's when I saw that the forgotten call that I made to her number during the drive did, in fact, connect and she was on the other end of the line for the duration of the song.

"Well, slap my ass and call me Sally," I breathed out in dismay, my cheeks getting hotter by the second. Good going, Salvatore! Way to impress a girl by rapping about liking women with gigantic asses.

She released a peal of adorable giggles at the sight of my reddened cheeks and I instantly felt better. I really wouldn't mind making an ass out of myself if it managed to cheer her up, at least. The cheerful atmosphere made my earlier reservations about spending time alone with her disappear completely, as we were now able to joke around and talk like how we used to. Our conversations were getting easier until we arrived at our destination.

"Woah," she exclaimed the moment the building came into sight. "This place…it's fantastic. Where are we?"

"This, Elena, is one of the oldest buildings in Mystic Falls. It used to belong to a very prominent family about a century ago. Come on, I'll show you around," I urged as I got out of the car, indicating that she should do the same. Together, we walked down the gravel path that led to the front yard, kept tidy and beautiful with yards of fresh green grass, neatly trimmed shrubberies, and a little decorative well at the edge of the driveway.

"Wow, are we even _allowed_ to be here? We're not trespassing on a private property, are we? Because I don't quite enjoy getting shot at, you know?" I smiled a little at Elena's quip, watching her drink in the sight of the expansive estate. Truth be told, I still find myself overwhelmed by the place, too. It was massive and quite picturesque, perfect for the day I had planned for her.

"What's the meaning of life without the presence of risks, huh? Come on, live a little. I promise I'll throw myself at you," I said teasingly without thinking, which was not much of a surprise since my brain matter was probably still scattered all over my expensive upholstery in the Camaro ever since I realized that she heard me rapping.

I didn't realize that I was way ahead of her until I turned to look at her, only to find her standing frozen with a palm pressed firmly against her mouth, her shoulders shaking with mirth. "What's wrong?"

"Y-you said that you'll throw yourself at me," she managed to stammer in between giggles. Seriously, what was the matter with me? I kept accidentally being funny all morning.

"Jeez, I meant that I'd take any flying bullets for you, Elena." Real smooth, Salvatore. You just about declared your true feelings for the girl who just broke up with her monster of a boyfriend. Nice. And now I'm talking to myself. Cue the eye-rolling.

Amazingly, my explanation drew a startled smile from her and for a moment, her gaze softened into mine and I could just picture the both of us, standing just outside the front doors like a couple of idiots just grinning away. It wouldn't be a bad way to spend the day, actually. But, she was here for a reason. I just had trouble remembering what that reason was.

Oh, yes. Right.

"Umm, so remember when I said that I wanted you to meet someone special?"

Her eyes widened in surprise and then she looked around warily, as if expecting someone to walk right up to us right then. "Yeah, I- I think so. We're meeting someone _here_?" she asked nervously, and I wondered why she suddenly seemed apprehensive. Who was she expecting to meet, Jack the Ripper? Or Ted Bundy?

"Yeah, come on, let's go in," I said and proceeded to unlock the main door, holding it open as she tentatively stepped in, now looking fearful of the mysterious character I was about to unleash on her.

"Wait, where did you get the keys to this place?" she asked, her eyes narrowing suspiciously.

"This is my home," I stated simply and her eyes widened in surprise.

"Y-you live here? In _this_ massive house? Alone?"

Choosing not to answer her questions for a moment, I gently guided her through the dark foyer and into the high-ceilinged living room with dark timber paneling on the walls and a massive stone fireplace right in the middle of the opposite wall. I pushed her tensed body into one of the huge orange sofas, giving her shoulders a light squeeze as I did. "Actually, no, I _don't_ live here alone. Wait here for a moment."

I then retraced my steps towards the foyer, approaching a chest of drawers where an antique lamp rested on and rummaged through the top drawer to find what I was looking for. Successfully locating the item, I pocketed it and then bellowed loudly, "Pig? Come on down."

The sound of nails pit-patting on the hardwood floors assailed both our ears in an instant, and soon, a light brown ball of fur raced past me and went straight to the shocked brunette who didn't quite know how to react. I heard a loud "Ooof!" from her before she disappeared from my sight.

I ran back to the sofa, and then promptly burst out laughing when I saw my dog, a pug, on top of Elena, giving her face a tongue-bath while she tried to avert her face from the unexpected assault. Elena was flat on her back now, chuckling and valiantly attempting to push the over-enthusiastic dog away so that she could breathe.

"Pig, that's enough. Down, girl," I ordered in a stern voice, but the rambunctious bitch wouldn't heed my command. I had to lift her bodily away from a struggling brunette, the dog panting heavily with its tongue hanging out as I held on to her tightly. She may be a tiny bit overweight for her type of breed; my muscles were aching just from carrying her alone.

"Are you okay? Sorry about that, Pig can be overly-friendly sometimes, but I've never seen her fly at someone that fast before. She must _really_ like you," I said as I helped the fallen woman up from her horizontal position, setting the panting dog on my lap as I took a seat next to her.

Brushing her hair off her face, Elena nodded. "You named your dog 'Pig'? That's so cute! But why that particular name, though?" she laughingly asked while wiping her wet and rosy cheeks with her jacket sleeves. She seemed utterly captivated with my dog, her warm brown eyes trained on her as she scooted closer to me on the cushion, eager to pat the attention-loving pooch.

"Umm, she snores. Loudly," I stated simply, distracted by her proximity to me now that the entire length of her right thigh was flushed with mine, separated only by the denim of our jeans. It didn't help that she was bent down towards my lap, her hair tumbling over my thighs, stroking Pig's big and round head as she leaned in to coo at her, much to the dog's delight. Pig returned the affection by licking Elena's chin and nose, making her scrunch her face adorably at the smell of dog-breath.

I found myself increasingly jealous of my dog being able to openly lavish such attention to the girl I was falling in love with, despite my best efforts to maintain a strictly platonic connection with her. There was nothing I wouldn't give just to be able to reach out to touch her face lovingly, or to see her smile at me the way she was smiling at my bug-eyed dog.

I wanted her. Dear God, how I wanted her.

"…don't snore, right Pig? I'm sure your Daddy's just exaggerating, isn't he? God, you are so precious! Isn't she precious?" Elena chuckled as she scratched behind its ears, earning her a deep growl and closed eyes from the pampered pooch.

_You're precious, and if I'm the Daddy, I wouldn't want anyone else to be her Mommy but you_, I thought to myself as I shifted uncomfortably beside her, sliding further up the seat to put some distance between us. I was worried about my self-control around Elena, fearing that I would do something stupid like, I don't know, kiss her? Lick her from head to toe like my dog just did? My change in position alerted Pig to a familiar smell coming from my pocket, her floppy ears perking up and she started grinding her head against my thigh, pawing at me with her right paw.

"What is it? Why is she doing that?"

"Oh, she just wants the boner in my pants, that's all," I said without thinking - for the umpteenth time today - while I raised my hip so that I could reach into my pocket to remove the item meant for Pig. Elena's sharp bark of laughter made me look up at her reddened face, her lips pressed tightly together as she stifled her giggle. Then, I realized what I said.

Did I just say that I had a boner in my pants? A _boner_? To a lady? Face, meet palm.

"Umm, bone. I meant bone," I explain sheepishly as I held the small cream-colored rawhide up to prove that I wasn't a horny toad, only to have Pig jumping up and snatching it from my fingers before jumping down onto the floor near Elena's feet to nibble happily at her favorite chew toy.

Still chuckling softly, the brunette slid down to sit cross-legged on the floor beside my dog, propping her chin up with her hands as her elbows rested on both knees while she kept her fascinated eyes on the dog. Much to my reluctant amusement, my own dog, the one I had rescued from the pound since she was three years old, quickly climbed up onto Elena's lap with the bone in its mouth and settled down comfortably by resting its heavy head on her thigh, sighing in satisfaction.

Just then, my phone beeped, signaling an incoming message. It was from Blondie. My eyes started rolling automatically as soon as I read her texts.

_**NEW MESSAGE FROM CARE BEAR:**_

_HEY! ARE YOU GUYS NAKED YET? ;)_

Despite my best efforts, I had to bite back a grin at her opening words. Glancing discreetly over at Elena who was temporarily distracted with Pig, I typed a quick reply.

_STARSKY: OH YES, WE ARE NOW IN MY 'MASTURBATE ROOM' :P_

A few seconds later, her reply read:

_**NEW MESSAGE FROM CARE BEAR:**_

_PERVERT! :D OH YEAH, I CAN'T JOIN YOU GUYS BECAUSE I HAVE PLANS LATER. TTYL!_

What the hell?! She wouldn't leave me alone with Elena all day, would she?

_STARSKY: WHAT? WHAT PLANS?_

_**NEW MESSAGE FROM CARE BEAR:**_

I HAVE TO WASH MY HAIR. IT'S EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. ;)

Wash her hair? What the hell was she playing at?

_STARSKY: GET OVER HERE, BLONDIE!_

_**NEW MESSAGE FROM CARE BEAR:**_

I'M TRYING TO GIVE YOU GUYS SOME ALONE TIME, DUH! GO GET HER, TIGER! *ROARS* LATER!

"I didn't know you had a dog," Elena commented as she ran her fingers down the length of Pig's short and extremely rounded rump, pulling my attention back to her. Vowing to have a few choice words with Blondie later on, I reluctantly pocketed my phone without bothering to reply her. "She's gorgeous. And look, her eyes are brown, like mine!"

I must be a glutton for punishment because the next thing I knew, I was joining them on the floor, stretching my legs out as I leaned back against the couch while making sure that I had at least a six inch gap between us. "Yeah, I've had her for a couple of years. It was love at first sight, for me at least, when I saw her at the pound. She was three, and about to be put to sleep when I walked in one day. She was scrawny, badly wounded, and had a bad case of skin infection. No one wanted to adopt her because she was a fully grown bitch, not to mention the cost of nursing her back to health. Her previous owner had her chained to the back of his truck and dragged her behind him as he drove for a few hundred meters. It was a sad sight, let me tell you that."

My throat felt constricted while I recounted my first encounter with the apple of my eye, and I thanked God everyday for my unplanned visit to the pound on that particular day. It was nothing short of a miracle that I found her and that she found me.

"That's…awful!" Elena cried out angrily. "How can somebody do that to a poor defenseless animal? If he didn't love her, he could have given her away or at least got someone else to adopt her! How could he have tortured her like that? Poor Pig," she whined and reached down to pull the clueless pug into a hug, burying her face in its fur as the dog grew tired of her tug-of-war with the now half-eaten rawhide, preferring instead to simply lie still with her eyes half-closed. It took only a few seconds more before the dog proved to Elena how she earned her name. "I can't believe it! She's snoring!" the brunette exclaimed with a mixture of amusement and surprise.

"Like a chainsaw. What did I tell ya?" I grinned smugly before my expression turned serious again. "There are monsters everywhere, Elena. Human beings are capable of worse things than the most untamed animal, believe me. But at least she's happy now, and safe. And fat," I added for good measure, eyeing the extended belly of Pig. Perhaps it was time for a doggy diet.

"I'm glad she found you then," she said softly, her watery eyes gazing deep into mine and her lips curving into a grateful smile. Somehow, I had the sense that she was not only referring to the dog, but also to herself, and that spurred me on into a sensitive topic, but one that I felt that I had to breach anyway.

"Elena," I started hesitantly, "you know I'm here for you if you want to talk about what _he_ did to you, right? I mean, bottling up your feelings is not going to help you move on, not until you've come to terms with what he is, and what you are."

Immediately, I could see Elena shutting down in front of my eyes, like a fog that descended into her mind, pushing my words out. I didn't need to say his name out loud for her to know _exactly_ who I was referring to.

"No, Elena, hear me out," I insisted as I sat up straighter, turning my body completely to face her as I pulled her hands into mine, brushing my thumbs over her knuckles comfortingly. "What I'm going to say is not pleasant but you need to hear it anyway because nobody else is going to tell you the truth, not if they think that they are going to hurt you. But you need to hear this, because as your _friend_, I want you to be able to accept reality and be able to move on from this…from _him_."

She tried to avert her eyes and pull her hands away but I held on firmly. And this time, I wasn't going to let her off easy.

"You are a victim of abuse. Mason Lockwood is a bully who thinks that he has power over you just because you had no other choice but to stay with him, whether it was because of your lack of family or that you loved him, or for whatever reason. The simple truth is that he's the worst kind of monster there is, because he laid a hand on you, Elena. He may have loved you in the past, but what he did to you, that is not an acceptable form of love. He wouldn't have hurt you if he loved you. He just loved the feeling of dominance over you, that certainty that you'd take everything he dished out because he made you feel as if you deserved it. But you didn't, it wasn't your fau-"

"But I _did_ deserve it, Damon!" she burst out suddenly, her eyes flashing with resentment at my chosen topic. "I lied to him, I went behind his back, and I wasn't a supportive enough girlfriend. Is the list of my transgressions enough for you? Do I need to explain how I had it coming, that I _practically_ forced his hand? He hasn't always been the guy you all seem to think he is, you know? The angry guy? Well, that wasn't him."

"Then tell me, who _is_ he, then? A guy with issues? A guy with split personalities? Why can't you see the truth? It doesn't matter what you think you did, if a person ever raises a hand against you, you leave. Just like that. You stayed with him when you were supposed to be running in the opposite direction, you stick up for him whenever any of us say something bad about him, and yet you _know_, deep down that something's not right. That's why you showed up at Caroline's front door the other day, isn't it?"

Elena shook her head before I even finished. "I left him because Caroline needed me, and to be honest, I wanted to show him that I wasn't okay with him drinking again, that's all. I didn't intend for it to blow up in my face the way it did," she sighed sadly, all traces of our previous jovial mood now gone. Why did I open my big mouth anyway? "You wouldn't understand anyway, and why should you? You've never been in my situation before, none of you have."

Au contraire. It was time to drop the bomb.

"Oh, I understand perfectly, Elena, more than you think. What did you think made me decide to be a social worker with the DVN anyway? It sure as hell wasn't for the money," I said bitterly, letting all the old wounds expose themselves to the raw emotions that washed over me as I remembered what happened all those years ago.

My tone must have struck a chord with Elena as she turned to gaze at me curiously. "What was it, Damon?"

Even after all this time, it still hurt just thinking about my tortured past. How does one answer that kind of question, knowing the painful outcome of what happened? Ah, screw it.

"Everything you just said, every excuse you made on Lockwood's behalf, I've uttered them all. I was in denial as much as you are now. But if you really want to know the story, then you have to come with me. I have something to show you," I said, getting up to my feet and holding out a hand to her, waiting.

Elena looked confused for a moment, her eyes riveted on my outstretched hand, and then she gently pushed Pig off her lap without waking up the exhausted dog. The continuous snoring didn't let up, even for a second. Without any further hesitation, she took my hand and allowed me to pull her up.

"Where are we going?" she asked as I led her towards the main door.

"To the cemetery."

* * *

**Sorry, this chapter took so long. The words just wouldn't come out last week. But now that we've established the mystery character was Damon's dog, I hope that you'll like Pig. She'll be featured in a few other scenes soon. **

**And that Damon's car scene with the song? True story. Happened to me when I forgot that I was calling my client on my hands-free set, and I was singing my heart out, not realizing that he could hear everything on his end. I only realized it when he called me back, trying not to laugh at me. Suffice it to say that I didn't dare to meet him after that, ever. *blush* **

**My twitter: cgsa_cher for more embarrassing stories about myself. I have plenty.**

**Kristi (tukct81), my beloved beta and publicist. I wanna kiss you all over. I am, of course, straight. **

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. I love you all…platonically. I only love Damon Salvatore inappropriately. Sorry if that burst your bubble.**


	9. Chapter 9

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Be warned. I'm in a somber mood today. You might need a drink (or twelve) to get through this chapter. Don't say I didn't give you a heads-up. **

**Okay, maybe you don't need a drink. Now that I'm done writing, it's not as forlorn as I thought. Hmmph! I must be losing my touch! Anyway, this chapter was easy to write as the words just flowed out of me like the red river of menstruation. Yeah, I know! Nice analogy, right? RIGHT? **

**You guys have NO sense of humor! FINE, I'll shut up so that you can read the result of my verbal period….**

* * *

**A Woman's Worth: Chapter NINE**

_Elena's POV_

"To the cemetery," Damon said as he tugged my hand along, heading towards the front door of his house. Okay, maybe not so much a house as a mansion. Who am I kidding; the guy actually lived in a freaking palace!

As much as his announcement of our next destination alarmed me to no end, I decided to focus instead on the sleeping dog I had pushed off my lap seconds earlier. "Wait, what about Pig? We're not just going to leave her here, are we?"

"She'll be fine. Stef will be home soon," he said without breaking his stride.

_Steph_? As in Stephanie? As in live-in girlfriend or wife? Or an attractive housekeeper who wears French maid outfits all day long with garter belts and crotchless panties?

Fuck. My. Life.

The unexpected joy of meeting Damon's dog started wearing off as I followed him silently to his car, neither of us saying a word as we each got distracted in our own thoughts. For some reason, I was upset with myself that I was even _remotely_ bothered with the presence of this _Steph_ character in his life. As I sat in the passenger seat, gazing blindly out the window at the passing scenery, my mind kept repeating on a constant loop that I was being ridiculous.

Stupid. Dumb. Silly.

Why did I even care that he had a woman in his life? A week ago, I thought that he was secretly dating my best friend behind Tyler's back. In fact, I wasn't even certain about the nature of their relationship _now_, especially with him spending so much time over at Care's house. All I knew was that I wasn't comfortable with the idea of Caroline and Damon together. And now with a new character thrown into the mix….

"What are you frowning about over there?" Damon's gentle tone penetrated through the thick silence in the car as we neared our destination. I still didn't know why we were headed to a cemetery, but I was surprisingly comfortable with following a man I just met a few months ago to a place where bodies were buried under tombstones. I guessed from day one I've trusted him, even _before_ I ever opened my eyes to lock with his startlingly blue ones.

"I'm-I'm not. I'm just wondering when Caroline would be joining us," I lied. For some inexplicable reason, I had decided to bring my best friend into the conversation at that moment. Perhaps it was a reminder to myself that the guy beside me was off-limits and that we've always had Caroline's presence as a buffer between us. Then I realized that I should have thought of _Mason_ when it came to reminding me why it was not acceptable to be developing weird feelings for other guys.

"Maybe she's…..busy?" he replied with a slight hesitation in his voice. Perhaps he was looking forward to seeing her. Maybe he was just stuck babysitting me while she was off to class and that he really wanted to spend the day with her instead. Or maybe have a hot raunchy threesome with Steph!

Oh good Lord, what was I turning into?

I didn't bother to answer him as we pulled up to the entrance of the empty cemetery. Well, empty of living, breathing humans, that was. It was filled to the brim with decomposed corpses of Mystic Falls' finest. Man, I am morbid today, I thought to myself as I got out of the car as soon as it rolled to a stop, eager to breathe in some much needed fresh air.

"Hey, are you okay?" Damon called out as he ran over to catch up with me, his eyes narrowing into a worried frown as he searched my features.

I merely nodded and said, "I just haven't been here in a long time, not since my parents…well, you know." I couldn't even bring myself to say it.

My answer seemed to have surprised him and then a guilty look flashed across his handsome features. "I'm sorry that my bringing you here brought up a sad memory for you. I didn't think, Elena. Do you want to go elsewhere? Maybe go home and play with Pig a little bit more?" he suggested, hoping to raise my spirits. It was a nice effort, but he brought me here for a reason, and I had to admit that I was beyond curious to know his back story.

"No, that's okay. I'm fine, really. You said that you had something to show me, right?"

He hesitated for a while, frowning slightly as if he was weighing the pros and cons of proceeding with his original plan. He seemed uneasy, edgy. "Aaahh, maybe it wasn't such a good idea to bring you here, Elena," he muttered, running his fingers through his thick wavy hair as he sneaked a glance at the direction of his car.

"Well, we're here now, and I really do want to know your story. So why don't you start by telling me why you brought me _here_? To a cemetery?" I suggested, tucking my hand into the crook of his arm and urged him to lead me into the quiet grounds.

He was quiet for a long time as we strolled slowly through the serene surroundings, a light breeze greeting us while we made our way to the east side of the graveyard. Other than the questionable location, it was an ideal way to spend the day; the trees swaying gently, the sky a perfect cloudless blue, and no one in sight. If I didn't know any better, I would think that it was a heavenly way to have a first date. But it wasn't, of course.

"I lost someone close to me a long time ago," he said suddenly, pulling my thoughts away from my little daydream. "She was the greatest woman I've ever known."

Oh God, no. My heart immediately went out to him about the same time that my fingers tightened on his arm, giving him a comforting squeeze. "I'm sorry, Damon. I-I didn't realize," I whispered with a sinking heart. "Who was she?"

At that point, we had already stopped walking, and there we were, standing about ten feet away from a marbled tombstone with a lone wilted red rose on the grass right in front of it. I watched as a somber Damon walked closer to it and crouched down, tracing his fingers almost lovingly over an engraved name, boldly displayed in block letters.

* * *

_**ROSALYN SALVATORE**_

_May 7, 2003_

* * *

"Salvatore?" I gasped when the name and date came into view.

He swallowed thickly and then nodded slowly. "My mother was one of the gentlest souls you'd ever meet, and the kindest," he started saying softly, his expression calm. It was as if he was lost in his own world, wrapped up in remembering his past. "She was beautiful, even with some wrinkles that I helped put there when I was younger. Everyone who came to know her, loved her and she was fiercely loyal to the ones she loved, almost to a fault. She was the type of person who knew exactly _what_ to say and _when_ to say things to make the people around her feel better. She was the perfect woman; a loving wife and a doting mother."

He released a heavy sigh and then with pain-filled eyes, he lifted his gaze to mine before he declared, "And it was my fault that she died."

Upon hearing his heartbreaking announcement, I found myself kneeling beside him and taking his face in my hands, my fingers wrapped around his angled jaws as I forced him to keep his eyes on me. "No, Damon, don't say that! I'm sure whatever happened wasn't your fault!"

"You don't know that. You don't _know_ what I did," he said sadly, shaking his head at me.

"Then tell me," I urged. "Let _me_ be the judge."

I sank down onto the ground, sitting with my legs tucked under me and reached up to pull Damon down so that he was leaning sideways on his mother's tombstone, his legs stretched out around me. Taking his hands into mine, I nodded encouragingly for him to begin his tale.

"We were a happy family…once," he recounted, his fingers squeezing mine. "My father was a successful businessman, charming, well-travelled and powerful. He was also an egotistical, selfish, womanizing asshole, and he didn't appreciate my mother for the woman she was. When his business started going downhill, he started taking out his frustrations on me and my brother. It started when I was in the sixth grade and Stefan was only nine at the time. Naturally, I bore the brunt of his beatings, because I was older and also because he had always preferred my brother over me."

Oh. So _Stef_ was actually Stefan, his brother. Thank God!

"It got so bad that I couldn't even sit down for over a week at a time, but I kept it to myself because I didn't want my mother to know. She had no idea that my father was a violent man because he never showed his true colors in front of her. The beatings would mostly take place late at night after my mother had gone to bed, and Stefan would go to bed early, hoping that the monster wouldn't go into his room for his turn. I was at that rebellious stage where I made it _easier_ for him to target me instead of Stef, since I stayed out late on most nights and practically drew a target on my own back. Soon, it became a daily ritual. There wasn't a night that went by that didn't result in me writhing in pain in bed."

My heart broke for the twelve year-old version of him when I heard his story, wondering how a child could go through that kind of traumatic experience with no one to turn to and yet managed to turn out into such a caring and amazing man who was sitting before me. There was no mistaking it; Damon Salvatore is a wonderful selfless man who had probably saved his brother's life, too.

"I think you intentionally rebelled to keep your brother safe from him. You would have rather taken the beatings than to let your brother be bullied, and that makes you a hero," I declared devotedly.

I wasn't at all surprised when he shook his head at my conclusion. "I'm no hero, Elena, far from it. I suffered silently for two years until I couldn't take it anymore and I ran away from home when I was fourteen. I quit school, I floated here and there for a little while until Ric's parents took pity on me and allowed me to stay with them for a couple of years. I started on an alcoholic diet, drinking what's left of my allowance just to forget that the past two years ever happened. It didn't even cross my mind at the time that with me gone, my father would turn his attention to my mother next."

He released a long drawn-out exhale as his head dropped against his mother's name, closing his eyes at the painful memories. "My sweet, innocent mother. She had no warning, no clue as to how her life would change the minute I walked out the door. I broke her heart when I left without saying goodbye, but I didn't want to give her a chance to change my mind. I thought that things would be back to the way it was before if I left, like maybe my father only got mad at me because I was such a disappointment to him. I really thought that my mother and Stef would be fine without me. I didn't realize at the time that I basically signed her death certificate by running away like the coward I was."

By now, my eyes were already swimming with tears, but I knew that the worst part of his story was yet to come. After all, his mother was lying in a grave directly underneath where we sat. "You were _fourteen_, Damon. You can't blame yourself for wanting a better life for yourself. If you wanted to blame someone, you should blame your father. After all, he was the monster that beat up his own family! Her death had nothing to do with you," I told him.

"No, you don't understand. I haven't told you the rest of the story yet. It had _everything_ to do with me!" Damon announced emphatically. "A few months after I left home - and this was before I stayed with the Saltzmans – Ric came looking for me one night at one of my regular hangout place and told me that my mother was in the hospital. She had suffered from a bad fall apparently, but the moment I saw her at the hospital, I knew that my father had gotten to her. She was black and blue all over, had a concussion and a broken leg. I pleaded for her to leave my father and to take Stefan along with her, but she refused. She told me that we were a family and that we had to stick together, no matter what. She asked me to come home, but how was I supposed to live under the same roof as _that_ man, knowing full well what he was capable of?"

"So I left her…again. In hindsight, I should have called the cops on him, but I was so afraid that it might piss my father off even further so I kept my damn mouth shut. So I kept drinking myself into oblivion, night after night, preferring instead to pass out drunkenly than to face the reality that was my life. Booze and women; _that_ was my life then until my sixteenth birthday when I got a call on my cell from home. I figured that it was my mother calling to wish me Happy Birthday like she did every year, and I was so drunk off my ass with a bunch of my friends that I _chose_ to ignore the call. It was also my _choice_ to ignore the six other calls that were made that night. I _chose_ to look for my happiness at the bottom of a bottle instead of with the two most important people in my life. And, as usual, after drinking half my weight in alcohol, I passed out on someone's couch. When I came to, it was already late morning the next day. I finally called back to the house, and as soon as I heard Stef's voice, I knew that something had gone terribly wrong."

I watched helplessly as two big fat tears rolled down his cheeks as he relived that awful memory of losing his mother. I wanted to break down and cry with him, but I had to remain strong for him so that he could continue with his story. I knew that it was probably one of the most difficult things he ever had to do, to share something so private and painful with someone else. But for some reason, he chose to tell it to_ me_, and I didn't think that it was something that he would willingly share with just anyone. He had to get it off his chest somehow, and I was more than willing to be the one to listen to him spilling all his pent-up heartache and self-blame.

I reached up with one finger to gently wipe the wetness off his face before cupping his cheek, and instantly, he leaned his face into my palm, seeking comfort from the warmth there. It was just such an unguarded and tender moment, one that I felt disheartened to break, but I had to keep him talking. It was therapy for his soul.

"Go on," I reminded encouragingly.

"I would never forget the scene that greeted me as soon as I walked in the front door, my first time in two years. My little brother was kneeling on the floor beside her body, holding her hand as she laid there broken, her head at an angle where she landed after my father had angrily pushed her off the stairs," he recalled with a shaky breath. "Stefan had been sitting next to her the entire night, refusing to leave her side. He was waiting, just waiting, for me to call back or for her to wake up, but neither of us did. Until I walked in and he just had this look on his face and he said to me 'She's not waking up, Damon. Why isn't she waking up?' but I had no answer for him."

I was literally bawling my eyes out, my shoulders shaking so hard from my sobs that I had no choice but to bury my face into his shirt as I wrapped my arms around his chest into a hug, welcomed or otherwise. I felt him stiffen slightly when he felt me clinging onto him as if he was my lifeline, and then his body relaxed into my embrace as his arms wrapped themselves around me too.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," I kept whispering over and over again, not knowing what else to say to the man in my arms.

"He was so scared. Turned out that my mother was _still_ alive when my brother called me, and if only I had not been so self-absorbed in my own pain, I could have rushed home and got her some medical help in time. She didn't have to die, Elena," he went on as if he didn't hear my broken whispers. "It's the _choices_ we make that define who we are, you know? If I had made the right choice at the time, I wouldn't have deprived my thirteen-year old brother of his mother. I failed him, and I failed my mother. I might as well have pushed her off the stairs myself."

His pain became mine at that moment; I wanted him to have everything he deserved to have after such a horrible past. I wanted him to be happy, to be rid of this burden he had chosen to carry himself, all because he had a monster for a father. "What about your father? Did you see him again?"

I felt his head shaking as it rubbed back and forth against the top of my head, and then his booming voice that sounded as if it was wrenched out from deep inside his chest with my ear pressed against it. "That bastard ran out as soon as he saw my mother's broken body, but I called the cops on his ass and he was caught within a couple of days. I had to bring Stefan down to the station and got him to give his testimony of what happened at the house that night. It wasn't something I ever expected a young boy who was barely in his teens to do. One morning, we were burying our mother and the next, we were sending our own father to prison," he said in a bitter tone.

I could tell that he still had a lot of residual anger for his father and maybe some of that anger was also aimed at himself for abandoning them. Now I understood why he could never just give up on me, preferring to hover like some kind of guardian angel ready to swoop in to rescue me if I ever needed him to.

"So did you move back home to take care of Stefan after that?" I asked, assuming that the brothers stayed together since then.

"Not exactly," Damon answered, his hands now lightly stroking my back, sending chills down my spine. "I was underage, so Child Protective Services wanted to split us up and place us on foster care, but Ric managed to convince his parents to be our legal guardian. It wasn't hard to convince my old man because he was faced with the possibility of a life sentence if he got charged with manslaughter, which he did in the end.

"As soon as I turned eighteen, I became Stefan's legal guardian and I made sure that I was there for him every single day after our mother's death. But I don't think that he ever really forgave me for walking out on him and for not saving her when I had the chance. Our brotherly bond had fractured into pieces and there was nothing I could ever do to make it up to him again. We don't even know how to talk anymore whenever we see each other in the mornings."

Hearing his heavy sigh, I pulled my head back to look up at his haunted expression, guilt and shame crossing his features. "Damon, you shouldn't be so hard on yourself, you know? You did what you thought was right at the time. You were only a child yourself, and it was your father's job to protect his children, not abuse them every night because of his own failures. You had no choice, okay? You _had_ to leave, not knowing what would happen even if you told your mother about him. She decided to stay on even after she was admitted into the hospital. That was _her_ choice, Damon," I told him as I stroked his cheeks.

"Like it was yours?" he asked, his penetrating gaze searching mine with a frown on his forehead. "See, I never understood why my mother didn't want to leave my father. I mean, sure, they were married and all that, and I could argue that I had no choice but to take his abuse for two years because I was born into that family. But what about _you_? You have no ties to Lockwood, and you don't owe him anything, so why didn't you run the first time it happened? What made you stay on even after everything he has done to you?"

Those were the same questions that I asked myself everyday ever since I ran away from Mason's home. I was certain that I had valid reasons for wanting to work things out with my boyfriend all those times, but now, after some time apart and being _this_ close with Damon today, I couldn't think of any reason that would satisfy him. For the first time, I had no excuse.

"Well, I'm not with him _now_, am I?" I replied instead, unable to come up with anything else. "Maybe I didn't have a reason _not_ to be with him then, but I do now. Maybe I just realized that I could have a different life with someone else instead." My whispered statement took _me_ by surprise as much as it did him. I watched as his eyes widened with disbelief, and perhaps even a tiny ray of hope as they tried to scrutinize the meaning behind my words.

A peaceful calm surrounded us at that moment, only sporadically interrupted by the sound of birds chirping in the distance, and the leaves rustling in the wind. It was quiet, except for the thundering sound of my heart beating against his chest, echoed by his own. My gaze kept lowering to his lips completely against my will and I swallowed nervously when I saw his tongue snaking out to wet them as if _he_ was nervous too. Our heads were pulled closer and closer together as if by some magnet and soon we were only inches apart. It would have been so easy to simply tilt my head and close the distance, but at that precise moment, a small pebble landed right next to my hip, making me jump out of my skin. And just like that, the moment was over.

"Holy shit!" I cursed loudly, scrambling backwards and looking up to see where the little stone came from, but there were no trees directly above us. There was nothing around us that might explain where the stone came from, but I took it as a sign. Clearly, Damon's mother didn't want me to be kissing her son, or it was nature's way of protesting against the fact that I was about to cross a line with someone who could very well be seeing my best friend.

Okay, fine, Mother Nature, or Mother of Damon. I read you loud and clear!

I jumped up to my feet awkwardly and I could see that a confused look came across Damon's face as he released my hand from his grip, still on the ground. "Come on, Damon. I want you to meet my parents. Upsy daisy," I said with mock enthusiasm, plastering a wide smile on my face as I reached out a hand to pull him up, much like what he did back at his mansion earlier. Without a word, he reached up with one hand to grab onto my outstretched arm and got to his feet, brushing the seat of his pants from grass stains as I led him to my parents' grave.

It didn't take long to locate them; they were on the edge of the north side of the cemetery, next to a tall shady tree that resembled a person. I loved that tree; it reminded me of a watchful angel that was looking after my parents' resting ground, protecting it from harm. I used to come here and lean my back against that tree trunk, pouring all my grief into my journal that I carried around with me. It was sad that I gave that up barely a month after their deaths, choosing instead to not think about the tragedy of losing both people who were my entire world. Instead, I chose to cling to Mason and made _him_ my whole world. Maybe _that_ was my problem, using Mason as a substitute for the family that had been torn away from me.

Maybe.

"Mommy? Dad?" I greeted the plain grey tombstone with my parents' name engraved on it. "This is my friend, Damon. He brought me here to 'meet' his mother, who's alone on the other side of the grounds," I said, gesturing a hand at the general direction of where we came from, noticing that the raven-haired man beside me had awkwardly waved at the tombstone with a reserved smile, one that is usually meant to make a good first impression on someone's parents.

"Err, hi Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert," he called out, looking uncomfortable to be talking to an inanimate object. I had to stifle an urge to giggle at his expression, so I opted to pull him down to take a seat next to me again.

"Oh, so we're sitting again? Okay," he muttered, adjusting himself so that he was seated upright and about a foot away from me. He appeared as if he was trying to be on his best behavior, no body contact, maintaining a respectful distance between us, which was kind of weird since we just spent the better part of the last hour crying in each other's arms. "Not sure how many creepy crawlies we've squished today with our 'juicy doubles'," he commented, straight-faced.

"Aaahhh!" I screamed, jumping up to my feet hastily for the second time today and then running around in circles as I tried to peer at the back of my pants to see if there were any casualties of the worm-kind. Then I heard Damon's loud chuckle behind me, freezing me in mid-twirl as I frowned down at his wide grin.

"Oh my God, you looked like Pig trying to chase her own tail, haha," he laughed at my expense, now looking like his normal jovial self. Suddenly, I felt like making an ass out of myself all over again, just to see him cheerful again. A sad Damon was a heartbreaking Damon, and I didn't ever want to see that version of him anymore for as long as I live.

Deliberately, I stood with my back facing him and stuck my bottom out in front of his face, since he was still in his seated position. "Quit laughing and see if there are any flattened worms on my ass, Chuckles!"

Immediately, his face reddened when his eyes involuntarily slid down to my jean-clad behind, his adam's apple bobbing up and down, swallowing nervously. He almost seemed enraptured with it.

"Th-there's nothing there," he stammered, dragging his eyes away from the curved view. Well, _that_ was a little insulting! _Nothing_ there? I happen to have a nice curvy behind, thank you very much! "Besides, we'd hear little screams if you had killed any. Maybe they're still sleeping and buried deep in their worm beds."

"They don't _really_ scream, do they?" I asked him doubtfully, worried now as I straightened back up, turning my concerned gaze on unsuspecting invertebrate animals found on the ground.

With a teasing smile, Damon shook his head and mouthed the word "No" before patting the area of flattened grass I had just sprung out of, indicating that I should return to my previous position there. I glared at him as if he was insane, and then with a sigh, he got to his feet and went searching for a bigger piece of rock for me to sit on. Finding one at the base of my favorite tree, he dropped the heavy piece at my feet and we sank back down onto the ground, now with me perched higher because of my elevated position.

"So, _scaredy cat_, tell me about your parents. What do you miss most about them?" he asked, looking amused when I kept looking around our vicinity for signs of the creepy crawlies he mentioned earlier.

I took some time to consider his question, thinking back to my childhood days when I looked forward to spending the holiday seasons with them. "I think I miss the holidays the most, like Halloween and Christmas. Those were the _best_ days, you know? We'd decorate the house and put on our costumes on Halloween, and my mom would create this awesome scary- looking food that would look more gross than delicious but we'd have fun daring each other to eat it anyway. We would come up with different themes every year and my parents and I would dress according to those themes. It was a lot of fun," I smiled fondly as I reminisced.

"What about Christmas?"

"Oh, Christmas was a whole shindig in our house! We would put up our tree like right after Halloween, and we three would each have our own section to decorate however we deemed fit. Then on Christmas Eve, whoever's section that was voted as the most festive would win the Christmas tree trophy. I've held onto that trophy for nine years in a row," I exclaimed proudly and then admitted softly, "But I think that the voting system was rigged anyway because_ I_ thought that my mom's section was the prettiest."

"I think your parents would beg to differ," Damon commented with a soft smile. "They sound like wonderful people, by the way."

I turned to the headstone dreamily, my eyes blurry with unshed tears at the memory of them, always happy, always smiling, never an unkind word uttered from their lips. "They were the best, and I miss them dearly," I said in a low voice, my throat tightening with emotions. "I miss the atmosphere at home when they invited everyone they knew to our house for a Christmas party, and we'd all gather around the fireplace, singing Christmas carols at the top of our lungs. We'd have Secret Santa so that everybody had to bring a gift with them and then we'd dance, with strangers, with each other, even with the black Santa, who was actually Uncle Maurice, the homeless guy who hangs out at the mall. The holidays were the best time of the year but now I can't ever have that again."

This time, it was Damon who closed the distance between us, ignoring his earlier gentlemanly behavior in front of my parents, his hand covering over mine as he dragged my head to face him with the other. "You _will_ have that again, Elena. I promise you, even if I have to drag Uncle Maurice out of retirement. Let's hope he still has that Santa suit and that it can still fit him."

And just like that, I believed him.

* * *

_Damon's POV_

It was a heavily emotional day, a light-hearted day, and also a day of exposing all our vulnerabilities out in the open.

In summary, it was a perfect day.

I wouldn't have changed even a single detail about today….well, maybe except for the unfortunate rapping incident in my car. Or maybe not even that! It got Elena into a good mood, and to see that smile on her face; priceless.

After our excursion to the cemetery, I took her to lunch where we continued to share our fond memories of our time with each of our families and I felt like we had connected on an even deeper level with one another. Our friendship was stronger than ever and our mutual attraction….off the charts!

I found myself in a silly mood ever since the incident at the cemetery, my mind constantly returning to that scene where something magical almost happened had it not been for that ill-timed pebble! As dazed and confused as I was at the thought that I almost had Elena's lips on mine, I had a sudden clarity of what I wanted to do to that stupid cock-blocking rock! As disappointed as I was at the time, my mind couldn't help doing mental cartwheels, knowing that we were now headed a step towards the right direction.

Elena trusted me, she was letting go of _Jerkwood_, and she had cried for me when I told her about my whole sad and sordid past. She even believed me when I teased her about the worms-thing. Granted, she may simply be a really gullible person, but I wasn't one to nitpick. The point was that she _trusted_ me. And she introduced me to her parents! That was huge.

I also felt really comfortable telling her about my mother and what happened all those years ago. It felt like I was talking to a soulmate, someone who knew exactly what I was going through at the time, and opening up to her felt therapeutic. It felt right.

Reluctantly, I dropped Elena off at Blondie's house after a long drawn out lunch. After walking her to the door, I just went back to my car and sat there, grinning like an idiot. I was just darn happy, and I wasn't afraid to let anyone know it. And when _I'm_ happy, I just want everyone around me to be as happy, too, which brought me to my next agenda on the list. I pulled out my phone and dialed the blonde troublemaker's number.

"Damon, I already told you! I can't join you guys because I'm-I'm-I'm….what was I doing again? Oh, I'm watching my friend's pet…iguana," Care said as a greeting. I almost rolled my eyes at that but then I caught myself in time when I realized that she couldn't see me.

"Really? I thought you said that you had to do an extremely important task like washing your hair," I teased, not really angry because I just had the most perfect date with Elena, all because my new girl best friend made the right call in making herself scarce for the day. I've had this idea brewing at the back of my mind all this time for Caroline, and I was going to see it through, but I had to enlist her help first.

After a brief pause on her end, Care volleyed right back after I called her bluff. "Did I say _my_ hair? I meant the _iguana's_ hair….oh forget it! What do you want?" she asked rudely after she realized her own mistake.

"I just dropped Elena off at your house, so you should get home soon. Now, the reason I called you is to find out if you can help me to organize something for Elena, like a party."

A gasp, and then a high-pitched squeal, resulting in me having to remove my phone away from my ears to hold it two feet away, and yet I could still hear Blondie's excitement over the idea. "Oh my gosh, how did you know that I'm thinking of changing my major to events management? Oh my gosh, are you serious? You really want me to plan a party for Elena? Where? When? What's the theme? Oh, is there a dress code? Wait, who's going to pay for it? What about food? Do we cater or cook?"

Chew my ear off, why don't you?

"Care! Care! Chill the hell out, okay? To answer all your questions, I _didn't_ know you were considering a career in events management, but now I do. And yes, I _am_ serious. As for the where, we could do it at either your place or mine, but I'd prefer yours since Elena's more comfortable there. When? I'm thinking Christmas eve because that's her favorite holiday, along with Halloween. I'll let you figure out the dress code, food and everything else. I will, of course, foot the bill. My only requirement is that we have a Christmas tree and we get Elena and the Fab Five – that's us, by the way – to decorate it together, deal? And invite some of your college friends for the party too, if you'd like, and Liz," I instructed, pleased with the plan that was taking shape.

"Deal! Ohmigosh I'm _so_ excited! I'll get right on it, and I'll update you soon. Laters!" And with that upbeat farewell, Blondie hung up the phone.

Now that everything was in motion, all I had to do was to talk to my brother and convince him to spend Christmas with me and my friends. After all, how else was I supposed to match-make him and my new girl best friend if they didn't get a chance to meet?

* * *

_Elena's POV_

It was an absolutely perfect day to spend alone with Damon. Well, with him _and_ Pig. That dog stole my heart the moment she tore into the living room as fast as her short legs could carry her and launched herself onto me. She was adorable, as was her owner.

Today had been fun, surprisingly. Okay, maybe fun was not the right word to describe what transpired between Damon and me at the cemetery, with me melting into a sobbing mess in his arms at his mother's grave, and what almost happened after.

No, I couldn't allow myself to think about _that_. No way. No sirree bob!

A mental image of Damon sliding his lips onto mine appeared unbidden in my mind and I quickly shook my head to get rid of it. No, I couldn't think of him _that_ way, not now. Not ever. Then I groaned and buried my head into my hands as the image appeared again, only _this_ time, _I _was returning his kiss.

I walked over to my room's closet and stood just inches from the timber frame. Then, I lowered my forehead onto the surface, knocking my head repeatedly as I chanted, "Don't be stupid! Don't be stupid! Don't be stupid!"

When I raised my head from the frame, all I could feel was a dull throbbing at the front of my forehead and I quickly decided that it was a great time to take a long shower. A cold one. So I grabbed a change of clothing and just as I was about to enter the ensuite bathroom, I happened to look out the window, and my heart began to thud violently in my chest. It was Damon's car! He was _still_ there, exactly where he parked when he dropped me off. Why hadn't he left yet? It must have been a good ten minutes since he walked me to the front door like a gentleman would on a first date. But it _wasn't_ a first date, I reminded myself.

Well, if Damon wanted to stay parked at Care's front porch until the cows came home, then it was his prerogative. As for me, my ice cold shower was long overdue.

Fifteen minutes later, I emerged from the bathroom, freshly washed, scrubbed, and moisturized. I was about to sneak a peek out the window to see if the Camaro was still there when I was halted by the sound of the doorbell.

Damon!

I practically ran downstairs and had the door flung open before I even thought to check the peephole. I had the widest smile on my face as I raised my eyes to the figure at the door, but it was the last person I ever expected to see at that moment.

"Mason," I breathed out incredulously.

* * *

**Yes, Mason was the pebble-thrower at the cemetery. Why? Because he was spying on Elena. Why? Because he's a sore loser and he wants her back as his punching bag. Why? Should I just **_**tell**_** you the freaking ending right now?!**

**So, next chapter, we'll see what Jerkwood wants with Elena, and we'll also see some interaction between Damon and Stefan. **

**Remember when I said that this story would have only ten chapters? Let's all throw our heads back and roar with laughter because that's NOT happening. Ready? One, two, three….. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Stop. Breathe. And again…**

**Oh, on a more somber note, I wrote the date of Rosalyn Salvatore's death as May 7****th**** 2003 because that's the exact date that my mother passed away after a vehicular accident during a holiday trip to Ashburton, New Zealand with my dad and another couple. The article of the accident appeared on The New Zealand Herald on May 9****th**** 2003. My sis and I flew to NZ to attend her funeral. After that, we decided to migrate to New Zealand one day because we just fell in love with the place! Go figure. RIP, Mummy Dearest!**

**My twitter: cgsa_cher **

**Everybody, you should all read Kristi's (tukct81) new story Great Expectations, a canon DE fic that has a new spin on the sire bond thingy, starting from episode 4x07. It's great! Plus, it's her first smut, so go check it out and blush! Or better yet, read and review her story and make HER blush! Thanks for being my awesome beta, Kristi! **

**Thank you to Carol, too for her input and for reasons I can't disclose yet in this chapter! Love ya! **


	10. Chapter 10

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: SPANK ME like the naughty girl I am for the late update. **

**There's not going to be an A/N from me, because apparently, they give out spoilers for the general mood of the chapter. So, no warnings from me this time. Suck it up. Yeah, I'm talking to you, Sana. *giggle***

**Read at your own risk. I apologize for the length. I hope it makes up for my late update though. Think of it as two chapters in one. (THIS CHAPTER IS UNBETA-ED. DECIDED TO POST THIS FIRST OR IT'LL HAVE TO WAIT TILL THURSDAY. FORGIVE ANY MISTAKES YOU FIND! GRACIAS)**

* * *

**A Woman's Worth: Chapter TEN**

_Elena's POV_

"Mason," I breathed out incredulously, certain that my expression was one of shock instead of welcoming.

I did _not_ see this coming, seeing _him_ on Caroline's doorstep after the most amazing day I just had with Damon. Immediately, I felt guilty for even enjoying myself when I was supposed to be heartbroken over our break-up. Why wasn't I being all mopey and gloomy?

Oh, right. Damon distracted me. He was exceedingly good at that, too.

Whatever I expected when I opened the door, it wasn't seeing my ex-boyfriend there with an indescribable expression on his face. He seemed so different; he was standing in front of me with tousled hair, his chin and jaw line covered in stubbles and wearing wrinkled clothes, looking as if he hadn't slept in days. In short, he looked miserable.

A small part of me felt smug that he didn't fare well without me by his side. A _very_ small part.

I sure as hell didn't expect what he did next.

"Elena, God I've missed you," Mason announced and then I was wrapped in his arms in the next instant, his fingers resting on my back gently. Well, _this_ was different. "I'm sorry, babe," he whispered brokenly.

Needless to say, I was in shock, especially when he pulled back and looked down at me with a crazed expression on his face, looking as if he'd aged a few years since I saw him last. He was much more tanned than I remembered, but the most surprising thing would probably be that he didn't reek of alcohol this time.

"Mason, I don't -"

"Please come home, babe," he pleaded, cutting me off. To be honest, I didn't really know what I was going to say anyway. What do you say to someone who had hurt you deeply and that you thought had broken up with you, and then to start feeling something for someone else, only to now have that first someone show up and apologize to you? Especially when he seemed to be jittery and nervous while doing it?

His tortured eyes searched mine, and I wondered if he could see my resolve to stay strong and not let him weasel his way back to me without some kind of grand gesture that I expected from him at this point. Damon would have been proud of me if he knew what I was thinking then. "Elena, please," he begged, "I'd do anything if you come back to me. I've stopped drinking, and I'm getting some help about my anger issues. Please, I need to talk to you. Can I come in?"

Damn my wavering resolve! In my mind, I conjured up an image of Damon shaking his head at me in warning to not let Mason sweet talk his way back into my good graces but I had a front row seat to my ex's earnest look in his eyes and I could tell that he was being genuine. _And_ I'm a sucker for men with blue eyes.

"Okay, but Caroline's going to be home soon, and you know what she's going to do if she sees you here," I warned, making it clear that while I was giving him a chance to talk, he wasn't exactly welcomed to stay for long. Not unless he wanted to get his ass kicked by a perky blonde. He nodded gratefully and stepped inside when I held the door wider for him to enter.

We took a seat beside each other on the three-seater sofa in the living room, and I waited wordlessly as I watched him struggle to find a way to delve into a subject that was clearly difficult for him to say. He seemed to have his mind made up a moment later when he took my hands into his and looked me directly in the eye. "I _do_ have a problem," he admitted finally. I could tell that it was a huge blow to his ego to make that admission out loud to me, but it was a start.

"I-I have issues with controlling my anger. I know that _now_, because I've been trying to find a reason for my past behavior, looking at things from your perspective and I started to realize that I was nothing but a monster for treating you the way I did. For _hurting_ you the way I did," he amended quickly. "Everything you said to me in the past, you were absolutely right about me not appreciating you. This past week without you at home, it was the worst week of my life. I realize now that I _have_ been taking you for granted, that I had let my anger get the better of me and taken my frustrations out on you. I was a dick to you, and I don't blame you for running off when you did. I'm _so_ so sorry, Elena, and I know that you need more than a lame apology from me to forgive what I did to you, but I'm trying. And I promise that I'll do whatever it takes to gain your trust again."

Well, damn. There are apologies, and then there's _that_. As much as I had wanted to stay angry and disappointed at Mason, he was making it increasingly hard to maintain my resolve not to be swept up by emotions as I studied this humbled man in front of me. _This_ reminded me of the Mason I had fallen in love with, the one who took me in when I had nowhere else to go, the one who was a kind and loving man. But it was still talk for now; was he a _changed_ man after just one week of my absence?

It seemed too good to be true.

"I know how hard that was for you, admitting that you had a problem and I appreciate you coming here and feeling sorry for what happened between us, but I've heard it all before, you know?" I said softly, not wanting to appear unsupportive, especially if he was being sincere. He took a step in the right direction and I didn't want him to be discouraged only to take three gigantic steps backwards.

"You apologized and vowed that you'd change after the first time, and you _did_, for a while but it didn't last. I ended up with a collapsed lung at the hospital," I reminded him and he flinched as if the memory physically hurt him too. "And then you said you were sorry and that it won't happen again, but then you forced me to choose between you and my best friend. I had to give up my friends just so that you could be happy but it still wasn't enough for you. You've belittled me and made me feel even more worthless since then but I took it all patiently, even putting up with more of your temper tantrums until I was so bruised that I couldn't even attend my classes. How do I know it's going to be different _this_ time?"

I was amazed at the calm that settled over me as I spoke, no rising fear in my chest, no dread in my voice in anticipation of a violent outburst in retaliation of my doubts. It was as if I was no longer afraid. I knew that I had the support of my friends, and that was where I was drawing my strength from.

Mason surprised me yet again by not only _not_ getting angry or even the least bit defensive, but he seemed to be ashamed of his past actions as well because he had his face buried into his hands as he let out a sob. "Yes, I _did_ do those things," he managed to wheeze out amidst his tears. "There's no excuse at all for what did, but when you left, I don't know why but I feel as if I really lost you. Not just physically, but emotionally, too. This past week, I had a glimpse of what my life would be like without you in it, and I didn't like it one bit. I felt dead. Empty. So I did some soul-searching and I came up with a way to help us get out of this mess that I made."

There was life in his eyes now as he leaned in and grasped my hands once again. "There's an anger management group that I found online, and I went there to see if they could help me control my temper, and I think it's working. I've had two meetings with them already and they made me realize that I was projecting my anger out on you because I wasn't happy and I didn't like the person I had become recently. I was actually mad at _myself_ not you, but somehow you ended up bearing the brunt of it. I lashed out at you and I'm sorry for that, but we can work on it…on _us_. I'll continue to work on my anger issues and we can go for some couple's counseling sessions, see if we can go back to the way we were before all this happened," he suggested eagerly, his enthusiasm clearly displayed now. "We were happy once, weren't we?"

I had to swallow nervously at that question, feeling myself to be on the verge of agreeing to whatever he was proposing. It would be all too easy to lose myself in the idea of 'Malena' again, to attempt to be our previous happy selves, the loving couple when we first started right up to the time when we moved in together. Seeing Mason now, practically begging for us to get back together, and even admitting that he was at fault, his words tugged violently at my heart strings, but yet, there was something that was holding me back.

It was Damon. And his previous words about the man that I used to love not being there any longer kept coming up in my mind, hence the hesitation.

"We _were_ very happy," I acknowledged slowly, "but it'll take more than just a couple of anger management classes and counseling for you to regain my trust back again. I know that you realized how wrong you were, and maybe you've had an epiphany or something, but I need more, Mason." It was time to set my own conditions for our relationship, if we still had one. I had to let him know that it takes two to tango, none of this one-sided nonsense. There are no Alphas in a relationship. It takes both parties to make it work and I wanted to make sure that he knew that.

"I need to know for certain that you'd never raise a hand on me or say an unkind word to me again. I need to know that you love and accept me for who _I _am, that you won't expect me to change to be someone whom you can love but only according to your requirements. You need to prove that no matter what happens, how frustrated you'd get or if things don't go your way, you won't resort to violence again. As for my friends, they are a part of my life too, so don't expect me to give them up for you because I won't."

There. If _that_ wasn't clear enough, then I really didn't know how to explain it to him. To my astonishment, he nodded in agreement.

"I know, Elena. I know that I hurt you deeply and I'm not talking about the physical wounds, either. But to prove how serious I am to make it up to you…" he paused, reaching into his jacket pocket to withdraw a small red velvet box, resulting in me gasping when he opened it and placed it on my open palm. "Will you marry me, Elena?"

* * *

_Damon's POV_

Can a person actually _die_ from happiness? Well, let's just say that if they can, then I was one very dead dude. I would probably be _so_ dead, I'd already be rotting in a casket right now. Or become worm-food. Okay, apparently I'm morbid when I'm happy. And what's with this strange fascination with worms all day today? Never mind.

For the first time in my life, I found myself whistling the theme from 'Happy Days' as I entered my house, which was weird because I didn't even know that I knew how to whistle. Hmm. Bending down to pet an enthusiastic Pig who greeted me at the door, I couldn't help the grin that spread wide across my face. I caught my reflection in a mirror hung above a chest of drawers at the foyer, and true enough, my face was practically split into two. The character of 'Joker' from Batman had nothing on me.

Shrugging off my jacket, I made my way into the library with a jumping pug at my feet, knowing that in another minute or two, the poor dog would be exhausted from all her excitement and she'd be snoring at my feet soon enough. Suddenly, I had a fantasy of me coming home from work – and by work, I meant hanging out with my buddies – with a brunette with particularly Elena-like features greeting me at the door with an enthusiastic kiss, jumping into my arms with her long legs wrapped around my waist as I walked her into a wall where we proceeded to make-out heavily.

Ouch. My cheeks were aching by now from the intense workout I was giving them by smiling so much. I reached up to massage them in circular motions with my fingers, not realizing that there was another presence in the room I hadn't noticed.

"Umm, hey. You're home early today," a hesitant voice greeted from one of the winged armchairs in the room.

Of course. _Stefan_. My green-eyed, spiky-haired and broody younger brother.

I had almost forgotten that he was the reason I wasn't hanging out at the Forbes' residence like I did everyday for the past one week. I turned to my brother and took in his appearance.

He was sitting with an opened textbook on his lap with a drink in one hand, looking as if he had been there for a while. I wondered briefly if that was where he usually hung out in my absence when he's not at his law school, but I wouldn't know because I hardly ever spent time at home, let alone come home in broad daylight. Our relationship was awkward at best, but I supposed it was time for some brotherly bonding.

"Hey," I replied with a nod and then I was at a loss for words. So much for bonding. Was it at all possible for my one-worded respond to convey how much I missed talking to him?

I stood there gazing down at him and then at the floor, shifting my weight awkwardly from foot to foot, my mind racing to find some common topic to serve as an ice breaker, but all I could come up with was a question about the brand of hair gel he was using to get his brown locks standing straight up, appearing to be much taller than he actually is.

Before I could even form my question, he was already up on his feet, shutting his thick-volume of a book and setting his crystal glass down on the coffee table. "I'll be upstairs, studying in my room," he muttered as he made his way past me towards the stairs.

So was this what our brotherhood had been reduced to, not even being able to stay in the same room together? No, I couldn't let this go on any longer. I needed my brother back. Without thinking, I reached out to grab his arm, halting his movement. "Wait, I-I-I need to borrow your hair gel," I blurted out helplessly. _Hair gel_? For what, my eyelashes? I happened to love my naturally tousled wind-swept hair look that begged for a woman's – and by woman, I meant Elena – fingers to run through them.

"You need _what_?" Stefan asked, seemingly taken aback by my odd request. Okay, time for plan B.

"Forget about that. What are you doing on Christmas eve?" There, straight and to the point.

For some reason, my question seemed to have rattled my brother because his familiar frown had once again made its appearance on his forehead, making him look _extra_ broody, therefore dampening what was my perfectly happy day. "Christmas eve?" he repeated. "Why do you ask?"

I forgot that McBroody used to have a habit of answering my questions with another question, and that was probably why I quit talking to him like since….I first sprouted pubic hair. Not sure why that seemed like an important milestone reference, but hey!

"There's a Christmas party that my friend and I are planning, and I was just wondering if you'd like to join us," I said casually, shrugging my shoulders to illustrate that it wasn't a big deal, when it fact, it was a _huge_ deal! "My friend, who is very sweet and nice, and I just wanted to introduce her to you because, well because…she's thinking of taking up a law degree and she could use your advice."

Woah, where did that lie come from? Why couldn't I have a decent, normal and honest conversation with my own brother for once without coming up with stupid excuses for him to meet a good friend of mine? Yes, that's _exactly_ what I should have said. Little bro, won't you come to my Christmas party so that you could meet my good friend? That sounded way better than what I came up with on the fly! Where's the 'undo' button when you need one?

Stefan appeared to be uncomfortable with the idea, mainly because he was shuffling his feet and averting his eyes from meeting mine. "Umm, I don't know. I have a big exam coming up and I really need to study. I wasn't even planning on leaving the house, to be honest."

Well, crap. So much for Plan B. "But it's Christmas! Surely you don't have an exam during the holidays, right? Besides, we haven't celebrated Christmas together ever since, well, I can't even remember when we last had a celebration together. Maybe it's time to change things up and set a new tradition, don't you think?" I asked eagerly, hoping that my enthusiasm would rub off on him.

"Umm, I'm not really in the mood this year. Maybe we can plan something next year if I'm not too busy," he mumbled dismissively and took a couple of steps towards the staircase once more, but I wasn't going to give up so easily. I was playing Cupid so where would I aim my arrow if one of my targets wasn't even there?

"Stef," I called out, making him turn back to look at me warily. "I know we've had our differences and that things between us aren't exactly a bed of roses, but we're brothers and all we've got is each other. I just wanted us to spend some time together, you know, have fun, be with some friends and just have a merry Christmas together like we used to do when we were kids. Besides, this woman that I mentioned, she's a pretty close friend and I'd like you to meet her. It's important to me." There, I said it. No pathetic excuses, no lies, just a heart-to-heart talk with my little bro, asking him out on a 'bromantic' outing. Where he would meet my future sister-in-law.

Again, he hesitated. If I was a betting man, I'd bet that he was trying to come up with more excuses not to attend the party, so I decided to do a little preemptive strike. "Oh, we're having the party _here_, by the way. And since you were already planning on staying home to study, maybe you could afford to take a few hours off from being a bookworm and come downstairs to have a little social life? Please?" I pleaded, jutting my lower lip out in an adorable pout, forgetting that this was my flesh and blood and _he_ would probably find it creepy.

"Alright, fine. A couple of hours and that's it, deal?"

Success! I knew my lower lip was useful for something other than to be nibbled on!

"Excellent! You'll have fun, I promise," I told him as he started walking up the stairs, intent on ignoring me for the rest of the day perhaps. It didn't matter, though. The plan was working and his life was about to get exciting. "Stef, bring a present!" I yelled out belatedly and then paused, waiting for a response. A muffled groan echoed down from the landing upstairs, so I took that as an agreement. Only a couple more things left to do.

I extracted my phone from my jeans pocket and pressed redial. "Care, umm, slight change of plans…"

After explaining to the bewildered blonde about the change in venue, I hung up the phone and went to search for my jacket on my way out. I was heading to the mall this time, and attempt to hunt down a certain black Santa by the name of Uncle Maurice to surprise Elena.

With an inward groan, even _I_ had to admit the truth: I was _so_ whipped!

* * *

Time passed too quickly for my liking and all too soon, it was the morning of December twenty-fourth. The main reason I wanted time to go more slowly was because of all the bonding I've been doing with Elena recently. The day after our 'first date', I arrived at the Forbes' residence earlier than usual, eager to see my brunette beauty again after the amazing day we both had.

For some reason, she seemed to be a little down in the dumps, which was startling since I was practically floating on cloud nine. Perhaps she was having some PMS – _Post Mason Stress_, not the other female thing…the red river of no-sex-for-a-week thing. So anyway, I thought it might cheer her up if she knew about the Christmas party we were planning, even though I was ruining the surprise.

It worked. She seemed genuinely pleased that we'd be celebrating a day that meant so much to her together as a group. I also might have lied and told her that the party was a way for me to reconnect with my estranged brother. Between her and my brother, I have turned into a compulsive liar. But whatever my excuse was, she bought it. Haven't I mentioned how gullible she was? It's adorable.

Also, Blondie had the bright idea to combine both of Elena's favorite holidays together, so we'd be organizing a Christmas party but with a Halloween theme. Not sure how that would turn out, but what mattered was that my girl was smiling again.

I have also been trying out that new thing, the one where I have conversations with my brother without having to bring up his hair gel as an ice breaker. To me, that was a massive improvement! Of course, I tried to bring up the subject of Caroline every chance I got, singing her praises and dropping hints that they would both hit it off well when they had a chance to meet eventually. Sadly though, my brother being classic McBroody, all he did in response was to look at me with a puzzled expression and sometimes, with a tiny hint of amusement added in. I was so sure that I had gotten through to him somehow.

So, on Christmas Eve's morning, I practically jumped out of bed and glided to my en-suite for a quick shower and then I was downstairs in record time, waiting impatiently for the rest of the Fab Five to arrive. The mansion was spotless, the furniture all moved to one side to clear the floor for one of Blondie's super-hush-hushed program, and the kitchen well-stocked. I was expecting the gang to arrive at any moment now.

Ding dong.

You know those cartoon characters where they run on the spot for a few seconds, their legs moving so fast that they appear to be a blurry motion, and then in the next instant, they disappear off in a cloud of smoke? Well, that must have been what I looked like as I jumped up from a recently relocated couch and rushed to answer my front door, only to be greeted by….a tree.

A _fir_ tree, to be exact. Then I heard Ric's voice coming from somewhere behind or _inside_ the tree, asking if this was the Salvatore residence and whether 'it' can uproot itself into my living room. Ha!

"Sure, Treebeard. Come on in," I held the door opened wider as the 'tree' I dubbed as the character in Lord of the Rings entered into my foyer with a very excited dog running around at the base of it, barking madly.

"Umm, kind sir, would you please get rid of the lunatic pooch, please? Or else my trunk is going to flail about violently," the 'tree' warned, so I bent down quickly to snatch my rambunctious pug out of harm's way, but then regretted it immediately when I felt her substantial weight in my arms. Seriously, what had Stefan been feeding her?!

I hastily set her back down and then ordered her to sit and stay while I supervised the progress of the 'tree', the view of the two people who were moving it now unhindered; the Tweedle twins.

"As much as my biceps, triceps and whatever muscles my arms have may appreciate the workout, we'd both welcome a little help from another able-bodied person such as yourself, Salvatore!" The thinly veiled reprimand came from Elijah, looking chic and casual in jeans and a white tee shirt, a drastic change from his usual suits.

I hurried over to help them, and even with the extra muscles, the three of us still struggled to move the heavy tree across the living room, ending up having to half-drag it over my beloved Persian rug. Sigh, the price I had to pay to bring a smile to one tiny female brunette. I wanted to make her wishes come true, so I got her a tree like the one her parents used to have in the past, the one where they would decorate as a family, making it a fun experience to hang up ornaments and twinkly lights.

"God, this is heavy," I panted when we reached the designated corner I reserved for the 9-foot tall tree, complete with a plastic sheet I had laid out on the floor to serve as protection for my ridiculously expensive rug. It took a group effort to insert the tree stump into a stand and once the tree was standing upright, I wanted to make sure that it was placed at the exact spot I had marked on the sheet; it was the exact same distance from the left wall and the front wall, and it provided plenty of room for our group to decorate the bare tree later, and finally, the shadows flickering from the fire from my massive fireplace a distance away would cast a cozy glow on the tree once the twinkly lights were put up. So I'm a mood setter, sue me!

"Hey guys? Let's move this baby to that marker over there," I requested with a low groan, feeling the weight of the tree getting heavier by the second as I tugged and heaved it one centimeter at a time, my arms protesting heavily. My vision was blocked by the green branches protruding out from the trunk as my head disappeared within the large mass, feeling the needles prickling my neck and cheeks. "Is it just me, or is this thing getting heavier?" I grunted in exhaustion.

"It's just you," Ric's voice came from a distance away, making my head snap up in confusion since I thought that he was as surrounded by needles as I was. Imagine my shock when I caught sight of my two so-called best friends sprawled out on the floor in front of the fireplace like two huge bear skin rugs, spread-eagled with their eyes closed, not a care in the world that I was left wrestling with one gigantic and uncooperative tree by myself.

"What the - woah!" I exclaimed in a panic when the fir I was hugging started to tilt, and I had no choice but to jump up to grab the upper portion of the trunk, intending to straighten it back up but then realized the horror of my mistake when my legs left the ground, bringing me along with as it crashed sideways into the left wall, leaving me hanging on for dear life.

Of course my most humiliating moment would be witnessed by my now _ex-_best friends who were laughing their heads off, but when I heard the sound of girlish chatter coming from the foyer, I was left shaking my head and groaning in defeat at the thought of the girls seeing me in that ridiculous position. I prayed and wished that by some miracle, they wouldn't even notice a full-grown man attached to a tree. After all, I was wearing all black so perhaps I could be incognito and had blended in with the tree somehow.

Hearing the girls' voices coming closer, I braced myself for the reaction I couldn't possibly escape from. "Oh my God, what happened?" Blondie screeched from somewhere behind me, her distance unknown since I was sure her decibel levels could be heard from as far as the Grille.

"Damon! What are you doing?" came the concerned voice of my beloved, sounding like it was coming from directly beside me, and sure enough, I felt her small hands touching my waist a second later. I hated to admit this but it tickled. Some Chinese customs believe that if a man is ticklish, he's actually afraid of his wife. As for me, I believed that being ticklish could lead to a lot of giggling make-out sessions, well, my masculine pride did anyway.

Now that my hope for going unnoticed was dashed, I tried to use some humor to spare myself from further embarrassment. Perhaps it could convince them that this was all part of the plan, and that I _meant_ to be clinging to a tree as if my life depended on it. "Umm, nothing, just hanging. I actually like to become one with nature, you know, before I go all Martha Stewart on them. It's a, umm, family ritual."

Okay, if I was ever getting out of the foliage in my living room, I was going to whoop some ass, especially the two chuckle-y twins who were busy laughing like hyenas to even bother to help me out of my unfortunate predicament. Luckily for me, I had my very own heroine in the form of a very brave and petite brunette who had enough intelligence to pull a chair over to me. I knew I loved her for a reason!

"Here, Damon, lift your left foot a little and step on this chair," she instructed, her voice coming from even closer to me as if she was whispering into my ear. I followed her instructions and relaxed slightly when I felt the sturdy surface of my dining chair beneath my foot, and that was when I felt her entire body melting into mine from behind. Belatedly, I realized that she was standing on that very same chair, trying to pull my upper body up and away from the slanted tree. As much as I appreciated not being one with the annoying plant any longer, I couldn't handle being so close to Elena and my body's immediate reaction to her, so I did something stupid. I let go.

Next thing I knew, I was surrounded by more prickly needles and what's even worse than before was that _now_, I had an Elena wrapped around me. She had refused to let go of me, so when I fell back down face-first, she had followed me, her arms wrapped tightly around my chest and her feet now tangled with mine as the chair we were standing on toppled over . I felt as if I had a koala bear on my back, except she was all womanly and soft, her entire front pressing into me in the most alluring way; not exactly helping with my proximity issue with her, judging from the increasing tightness of my pants.

"A little help might be nice," I called out helplessly, and then I felt multiple hands on various parts of my body, and soon, we were sliding down a very bristly tree, only to end up in an unceremonious heap on the floor with me on top of her. I felt a rumble coming from beneath my chest and I gazed down at her, unable to believe my eyes when I saw her chuckling.

"Damon, don't you know that you're not supposed to take the term 'tree hugger' literally?" she giggled adorably, her body vibrating under mine. Oh, the levels of pleasure that evoked in me. "And look at you! You're covered from head to toe with the green stuff."

I could hardly believe it when she lifted her arms and proceeded to run her fingers through my hair, brushing the green needles off of me, seemingly oblivious to the fact that we were on the floor, in a rather compromising position and under the watchful eyes of three of our friends. I could almost sense their smirks and I was also pretty sure that my face bore a striking resemblance to a ripe tomato right now, so I hastily untangled myself from Elena and pulled her up to her feet, removing traces of the tree off her hair and clothes at the same time.

"Damon, that's some nice sex hair you're wearing," Blondie chimed in with her two cents, jolting me back to a reality where I _wasn't_ supposed to touch Elena in an overly familiar way. For a moment there, I just stared at her blankly, wondering what she meant until I remembered that Elena's fingers were buried in them briefly and she must have messed it up somehow.

Great. _More_ new ways to torment the aching member in my pants. I could have sworn that the damn fir and my friends had planned everything to a tee to arouse me to death. I could almost see the headline for tomorrow's newspaper; Social Worker, 25, Death by Erection and Burst Zippers.

Cold shower. _Now_!

"Umm, why don't you guys get started on decorating what's left of the tree while I go and clean myself up?" I suggested, hoping that nobody would notice the funny way I was walking. As the rest of the group started to crowd around the fallen tree, only Ric glanced at me with a knowing look in his eyes, giving me a thumbs-up sign and a pointed look at Elena who was busy sifting through a box of ornaments excitedly. I managed to roll my eyes at him before I took advantage of their distraction to make my escape.

"Hey, what happened? Did you _decide_ to turn into a tree or -?" Stefan asked as he strolled in with his hands in his jeans pockets, looking up and down my entire length in bewilderment.

My little brother's sudden appearance reminded me of the second part of my master plan so I reverted back to playing my role as the resident Cupid. "Stef! Good, you're here," I greeted with a broad smile, my abrupt enthusiasm catching him by surprise. "Let me introduce you to my two friends. That's Elena over there and _this_ is Caroline, the girl I told you about," I said as I moved over to stand next to a perplexed-looking Blondie and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, guiding her over to where my brother was standing.

I watched as Stefan gazed at my new BFF with renewed interest at my introduction, so I decided to let nature take its course. After all, I had released my arrows, now I just had to give it some time for them to work their magic. "I'll leave you guys to it, then. I just need to run upstairs and de-needle myself," I announced to Stefan and then rushed up the staircase to take another long and cold shower, but not before whispering into Blondie's ear to feign an interest in joining a law school.

* * *

After spending an inappropriate amount of time in my room doing….unmentionable things to my, err, nether regions, I finally made my way downstairs, only to be greeted by cheerful sounds of laughter and banter. Upon closer inspection, I found the entire gang, plus my normally elusive brother gathered in my kitchen, surrounding Elena around the island.

"Hey, look who _finally_ decided to turn up to his own party," Blondie exclaimed when she caught sight of me, all cleaned up and changed.

Was I gone for that long? "I had some….piping issues," I replied vaguely, not bothering to explain what kind of pipe I was referring to. The less these people knew of my recent bedroom excursions the better. What? I couldn't very well walk around sporting an erection all day! There were people in the house! "What are you guys up to?" I asked as I went to stand beside her, putting out my feelers for a sign of progress between my brother and my new best friend in my absence.

My new position at the island provided me with a view of a very domesticated Elena concentrating on piling some cream on top of a cake, wearing an apron on top of her clothes.

"Slip This Cook Some Tongue and Watch Me Boil," I read out loud off the front of her apron. Seriously, was the theme of the day 'How to drive Damon crazy with sexual frustrations'? "That's a very naughty apron, Elena."

"I know," she nodded with a mischievous smile. "It's yours. I found this still wrapped in a plastic at your bottom drawer there," she said, indicating to a row of drawers at the corner of the seldom used kitchen. Wait, I owned an apron? Or better yet, I had drawers in my kitchen?! "I hope you don't mind that I used it first. Stefan said I could."

I found myself loving my brother a little bit more than usual for inadvertently causing Elena to look extremely adorable in her getup, and I had a sudden vision of many mornings where I would come downstairs to find her preparing breakfast for a small army, with several raven-haired tiny munchkins running around at her feet as she flashed me a broad grin as a greeting. Then I would wrap my arms around her from behind as she stood by the stove, leaning in to kiss the side of her neck and teased –

"Damon, you're kinda drooling on me a little," came the laughing voice of the blonde beside me, effectively snapping me from my inappropriate daydream when she reached over to wipe the corners of my mouth with a napkin.

Noticing the knowing looks that Ric and Elijah flashed me, I struggled to get my mind out of the gutter. "Umm, the cake looks delicious. Did you make it, Elena?" I deflected, ignoring the guys.

"Yup," she said, popping the 'p' as she concentrated on putting the finishing touches on her masterpiece. "I started on this fruit cake the moment you told me about the party because I needed to feed a few teaspoons of brandy to get it right, but I didn't have enough time, so this might not turn out so well."

_Brandy_? She baked an alcoholic fruit cake? I must have looked uncomfortable because I could see the Tweedle twins exchanging a look, and then Elena glanced up at me inquiringly after a moment of heavy silence that descended upon our group.

"Elena, Damon hasn't touched alcohol since nine years ago," Ric informed her softly and upon hearing his words, I could see the wheels turning in her head until it clicked.

"Since your mother's death," she breathed out with a stunned look, her lovely brown eyes wide open and filled with compassion for me. I didn't realize that I was nodding at her unspoken question but it seemed silly to delve into that heavy subject again right now. It was Christmas Eve and the whole purpose of this party was to get my brother to meet and fall in love with Caroline, make Elena happy and smiley again and to do it all before the clock strikes twelve.

It didn't help that Stefan was staring at me with an indiscernible expression, as if he was trying to figure me out. Then I felt myself being enveloped in a tight bear hug with bright-colored curls in my face.

Blondie.

"You poor man," she declared as she released me, and then to my surprise and pleasure, she did the same to my stunned brother, who wasn't expecting the kind of warmth only Care Bear was capable of. He had better get used to it soon. "You too, Stef. You're brothers so it was your mother, too."

"Err, thanks, Care," he said hesitantly, looking relieved when she eventually let go.

Wait. _Stef_? _Care_? Since when were they on first nickname basis? Seriously, how long was I upstairs? Were my love arrows _that_ potent?

"Well, lucky for you, Elena baked _another_ cake. A yule log cake! No alcohol whatsoever," Blondie went on as she skipped over to a box and proceeded to carry it over to where we were crowded around to reveal….

"Are those green _worms_ crawling on the ridges of the bark?" Elijah asked with a horrified expression, disbelief etched in his features.

"There are bloodshot eyes in the log, too," my baby bro commented, looking disgusted and amused at the same time.

A giggle escaped from Blondie's lips, probably due to all our reactions, but come on, even _she_ had to admit that it was a pretty creepy-looking cake! "It's a Halloween log cake, then! Come on, don't you boys think that my best friend's the most super talented woman on earth? I mean, she's gorgeous _and_ has mad skills in the kitchen. What man wouldn't want to have her cake and eat her too? " Did Blondie just winked at me?

"That's really gross, Care," Elena laughed, her cheeks flushed from her friend's compliment. "But then again, I did pick up some cooking tips from the best chef I've ever known; my mother. I may not be really smart, or have a body like a supermodel, but I have to admit that I do have some awesome cullenary – colorinery – culiminery," she said slowly, her face scrunched up with frustration as she struggled to find the right pronunciation of the evasive word, "carnerary – cunnilinguistic skills in the kitchen."

If it wasn't for the shock factor that accompanied her statement and very wrong usage of the word she finally settled on, I would have found the delightfully smug look she had on to be incredibly endearing. When the shock wore off, I was laughing along with the rest of the guys, wiping tears of hilarity from the corners of my eyes while the others were doubled-over, clutching their stomachs. Even my little brother. I had never seen him laugh that hard before, not even when we were kids. It took quite a while for us to collect ourselves but the moment we straighten up and saw Elena's confused expression, we were gone again.

I was practically struggling for breath, unable to stop myself from reaching out to clap Stefan on the back as we bent over, wheezing loudly as we laughed till we cried. My baby bro had an arm wrapped around my shoulder, and I realized that whether she meant to or not, Elena had brought us closer than ever to each other, and for that, I had to thank her.

"What? Was it something I said?" she asked, still perplexed over all our reactions. I supposed if I was her, I would have been amazed to see five other people collapsing all over the kitchen with tears streaming down our faces, even the normally straight-faced Elijah.

"You-you basically said that you were amazing at eating a girl out," Caroline managed to stutter amidst fits of giggles, drawing even more chuckles from the rest of us, "in a kitchen, of all places."

It literally took _all_ of my self-control not to go over and hug the poor embarrassed girl to death. If anything, her innocence was refreshing and could even possibly make me love her even more than I already did. She was an incomparable, one-of-a-kind, and completely oblivious to the effect she had on me.

"Umm, I meant to say culinary, I think. I'm not sure anymore," she mumbled, turning into a deep shade of red. "Where's the bathroom? I need to go wash up and maybe drown myself a little."

"Come on, I'll take you. This house can be quite confusing if you don't know your way around." Stefan sobered up from his merriment and led her out of the kitchen before I could offer to show her the directions.

Still chuckling softly, Elijah was the first one to speak. "Seriously, Damon. If you're not gonna marry the girl, then _I_ would. That was the most far out thing anyone has ever said, and I have heard _a lot_ of weird statements in my line of work."

"Yeah, dude, I can see why you're madly in love with her. She's hilarious," Ric grinned, shaking his head helplessly.

As much as I appreciated their approvals of my girl, with both my brother and her gone, I had to take advantage of their absence to take care of a serious business. "Quick, who drew Elena's name for the Secret Santa gift thing?"

"I did, why?" Elijah answered.

"Can we please exchange? I drew Liz's name but I already got Elena something that I think she'll really really really like." Oh God, did that come out as desperate as it sounded?

Elijah pretended to consider for a moment, his brown eyes mocking me as I waited for his answer. "Hmmm, I don't know. She might _really really really_ like my gift, too. What are you willing to do for the exchange?"

Well, shit. Since when did my serious detective friend become so cheeky all of a sudden? I blame Blondie. My friends and I were halfway normal once….BC. _Before Caroline_. "Would you like to sample _my_ cunnilinguistic skills?" Ha! Take _that_, you cheeky monkey!

"Sure, why not?" he answered with a twinkle in his eye while flashing his perfectly white teeth. God, this was by far the weirdest Christmas Eve ever!

* * *

_Elena's POV_

After what could only be described as a tumultuous week, I finally settled on an optimistic mood when I woke up on the morning of Christmas Eve. Throughout the week, I would be feeling deliriously happy one moment and then subdued and contemplative the next. The changes between either ends of the mood spectrum occurred daily; I was at my most cheerful whenever the gang came over to spend time with us, and then as soon as I had a moment of peace in the privacy of my temporary room, my mind would take me back to that afternoon I spent with Mason.

Once upon a time, I thought that marriage proposals were supposed to be romantic and full of loving feelings that would overflow from my heart. So why then did I feel a little let down when I saw the ring being held out to me? It was a gorgeous ring; a princess-cut diamond on a platinum band. It should have made me feel…more.

The idea of being with someone I loved for an eternity should have made me happier beyond anything, but when that someone was Mason? Somehow, now that I got everything I ever wanted, or _used_ to want, I felt empty. As if I was cheated of my happy ever after somehow. I couldn't understand it. I got my wish. When I ran away from Mason, I wanted him to come after me with an apology, a grand gesture that proved that he really _did_ love me. What's a grander gesture than asking me to marry him?

I stared down at the ring, not knowing how to respond. Then I told him that I needed some time to consider it. He seemed reluctant to leave without an answer at first, but seeing my resolve, he had no choice but to agree. It didn't mean that he would just wait at the sidelines quietly at all. No, he had been calling me and sending me text messages, asking if I was okay, updating me on his newfound path to righteousness and all that.

I had to constantly remind myself that this was Mason, the man that I loved, the man who had been there for me when I needed him most. A few months ago, had he presented me with a ring, I wouldn't have hesitated. I would have flung myself into his arms and screamed 'Yes' into his ear. The difference between the depth of my feelings then and now were astounding, and deep down, I knew the _exact_ reason for my doubts. I knew the mess I had inadvertently created for myself when I opened my heart for a certain blue-eyed man to enter. I knew it, but I was powerless to stop it. Maybe I didn't even want to.

I allowed myself to mull things over until the New Year's. I made a vow to make my decision by then, one way or another. But for now, I had a Christmas party to attend.

Seeing Damon being klutzy was the highlight of my day. When I entered the mansion with Caroline, I had no idea that I would be greeted with the sight of his back as he clung onto a massive tree in his living room. Soon after, I discovered that my new highlight of the day was when I tried to rescue him from the tree and ended up sprawling on the floor directly under him, feeling his very masculine body pressed against mine. He seemed nervous and edgy somehow. Then I met his brother.

Stefan Salvatore was not at all how I imagined him to be. Not sure why, but I expected to see a gangly kid with the same blue eyes and dark hair as his elder brother, but I couldn't be more wrong. He was a good-looking guy with classical features, athletic-build, and beautiful green-eyes, but he had nothing on his brother's magnetism. Or perhaps I was slightly biased.

Meeting Stefan brought forth an idea that had been brewing at the back of my head ever since Damon told me the story of his family history at the graveyard. It was such a shame that such a wonderful and compassionate human being had to have lingering guilt because of what happened a lifetime ago to his mother. Despite what Damon believed, he did _not_ deserve to be alienated from his own brother and _only_ surviving relative. I wanted to see if I could fix things for him, give him his brother back to alleviate his guilt.

I had the perfect opportunity to broach the subject when Stefan offered to show me the way to a bathroom after my unfortunate Freudian slip in the kitchen. To my surprise, he led the way upstairs to his room where he ushered me to his attached bathroom, nodding at me to proceed while he waited on a leather seat next to a massive book rack that covered one wall of his bedroom.

Like a gentleman, he stood up when I exited the bathroom, gesturing for me to take a seat on an identical chair beside his. As I sat, he turned to me with a curious look, as if he had a burning question he had been meaning to ask me. "How long have you known my brother, Elena?"

His question threw me off for a moment as I didn't expect it. "A couple of months or so, I guess. Why do you ask?"

"I'm just surprised that you know about our mother's death, that's all. My brother normally doesn't like to talk about his past, you see," he said, looking thoughtful as a frown appeared on his forehead. "You guys must be pretty close for him to talk to you about such a sore subject. He doesn't even talk to _me_ about it."

"He's a good friend of mine," I replied carefully. "I just found out about your family history recently when we went to the cemetery to visit my parents' graves together. I guess he thought that nobody could understand better than I can what it's like to lose a parent. I'm sorry for what you had to go through then, Stefan."

He seemed to be uncomfortable of my sympathetic words, but he nodded wordlessly anyway. For some reason, he appeared reluctant to voice any further thoughts, but I knew that he had more questions for me. After almost a minute of silence, I decided to try my hand at fixing whatever's broken between the two Salvatores.

"I know it's none of my business, but you should know that Damon feels responsible for what happened to you and your mother," I told him gently, uncertain of his response. "He's still punishing himself for leaving when he did all those years ago because he couldn't take your father's abuse any longer. I suppose he thinks that you still blame him for her death."

There, I said it. I've exposed Damon's innermost thoughts he would never have told his brother. I meddled in his affairs and all I could do was to hope that it wouldn't blow up in my face, or Damon's.

"I do….I mean, I _did_, when I was younger. A lot of things happened that he didn't think I knew about but I did, like how he went against my father's orders on purpose so that he'd get the thrashings instead of me. I knew how many times he protected me from father's wrath and how much he suffered from it, but he _shouldn't_ have left us all alone, not when my mother needed him around."

I could tell that it was a difficult subject for him to share with me, judging by the number of times he had swallowed nervously so far, but it also seemed like he _needed_ to talk about it. Maybe there hadn't been anyone else that he could open up to, not even with his own brother.

"Stefan, I know that it might seem as if things could end up differently had Damon stayed on, but we can't know that. Nobody knows what could have happened. Maybe instead of your mother, it could have been Damon who died instead. It could have been you, or even _all_ three of you. The villain of your story is your father; he's the monster who hurt your family, not Damon. He was as much a victim as you and your mother were, not to mention that he was only a young boy himself when it happened. You shouldn't hold it against your brother for running. He was scared, too," I told him, willing him to believe me, or better yet, believe in Damon.

"Besides, everyone's allowed to make mistakes, right? What matters is that your brother had spent the last nine years trying to make up for it by making sure that you guys stayed together, that you had an education. Clearly the guy is sorry for what happened, or he wouldn't be such a dedicated social worker and helping so many people who are victims of abuse. Is it not enough that he has repented and is trying to make up for the past?"

Saying all that out loud reminded me of what Mason was going through right now, how he was trying to change after seeing the error of his ways. If I truly believed my advice to Stefan, then I should give Mason another chance, right? He made mistakes, sure, _huge_ ones, but what if he genuinely wanted to make up for it? What if the reason he proposed was because he wanted me – no, _needed_ me to be there to support him as he worked on his anger issues? What if he was able to change for the better, but _I_ was the one who could give him the strength to do it?

"Elena? Did you hear what I asked?" Stefan's voice shook me out of my inner turmoil.

I shook my head sheepishly. Focus, Elena. "Sorry, I was somewhere else," I said apologetically.

"Was that why Damon quit drinking? Because he felt guilty for not coming home in time the night my mother died?"

Nodding my head, I made a calculated guess. "I think so. Look, I think you two really need to sit down and talk these things out. It doesn't matter who did what way back then, because it doesn't change the past. What _can_ change right now is how you two handle things from now on. Talk to him, Stefan. I know that he would love to have his best friend back the way it was when you were kids. What doesn't kill you make you stronger, right?" I flashed him a comforting smile and after a moment of hesitation, he nodded.

Oh my God! Did I just give Damon his brother back for Christmas? Best Christmas present ever!

"Elena? Did you really drown in the toilet?" Caroline's voice drifted up from downstairs.

"Hang on, Care, I'm coming!" I yelled out as I stood up hastily and walked towards the bedroom door. Turning back to glance at the silent man who remained unmoving, I had my own question to ask him. "So, are you coming?"

Much to my relief, he nodded with a shy smile and then started walking towards me.

* * *

The party was in full swing by nine p.m. that night. The mansion looked festive and less murky with all the twinkly lights and Christmas slash Halloween themed baubles. Our festive tree was one of the main topics of the night; people had mixed reactions to the Halloween themed Christmas tree that were covered with cobwebs, vials of fake blood, plastic bats and scary eyeballs that appeared a little too real. I had _no_ idea where Caroline got those from.

My third new highlight of the day was when a familiar figure appeared at the party.

"Uncle Maurice?" I gasped in shock at seeing the homeless black Santa who had appeared in several of my parents' Christmas parties. "What are you doing here?" I asked after I gave him a spontaneous hug.

I had to give credit to the guy…he barely even flinched while being hugged by a random stranger since I don't believe he even remembered me from before. He had always appeared half-drunk to my house during those occasions.

"This dude - Diamond, I think his name was - cornered me last week and offered me a couple hundred bucks to make an appearance at some party for his sweetheart. He also got me checked into a hotel and told me to have a bath and everything," 'Santa' slurred, proving me correct about his drunkenness. "The guy's a weirdo. Not that bright, either. I mean, I would have come even without the cash. He had me at the words 'free booze'," he chuckled, hiccuping as he waddled over to a makeshift bar, fully intending to raid the Salvatore's stock, no doubt.

I couldn't help it. I was giddy with happiness at the thought of Damon – sorry, 'Diamond' – and the lengths he went to, to make sure that I had the Christmas party I had described to him when I told him about my parents. My heart was practically bursting with glee as I went in search for him through the crowd, until I spotted him with Ric and Elijah at a corner, looking as if they were having an animated discussion. I didn't want to interrupt them, so I figured that I'd just thank him later on in the night.

Caroline had outdone herself with her organizational skills. The catered food was amazing, the music was crowd-pleasing and the attendees, who consisted mostly of my college mates, seemed to be enjoying themselves immensely. There was a group of people, led by Matt Donovan, the bartender from the Grille, who were laughing and falling over themselves playing Twister, and there was another group who were gathered around the scary Christmas tree singing Christmas carols.

I spotted Caroline and Stefan on one of the sofas having what could only be a deep conversation and I smiled at myself for my ingenuity. Earlier in the day, I had cornered my best friend and told her about my plan to repair the rift between Damon and Stefan, and she had agreed to help. I told her to try to talk Damon up as much as she could to his brother, and focus on the great stuff he was doing to help people in his job. Seeing them on the sofa, it looked like Care was taking her assignment pretty seriously.

Just then, a song I didn't recognize started playing through the speakers of the sound system set up by Ric. It had a nice and soothing rhythm, even romantic. As the first verse started, I saw Damon appearing in my line of sight wearing a determined look on his face. He seemed to be coming towards my direction, so I waited for him anxiously. Just as he was about five feet away from me, another guy cut across his path directly in front of me and held out an arm.

"Would you like to dance, Elena?" It was Stefan. I couldn't help but to feel disappointed for his less than ideal timing, and I looked past him to look at Damon who had halted in mid-stride, his features taking on a puzzled and confused frown. Abruptly, he changed direction and headed for Caroline. With a sigh, I accepted Stefan's arm and allowed him to lead me towards a mass of swaying bodies in front of the fireplace.

"I wanted to thank you for talking to me earlier about my brother," he said, gathering me in his arms lightly as we started to move in time to the song. From my peripheral vision, I saw Damon leading Caroline over and then they started swaying to the same rhythm not too far from where we were.

I nodded absentmindedly and tried to focus my attention to the other Salvatore brother who was looking at me earnestly. "Umm, you're welcome. I hope you didn't mind me being meddlesome."

"Trust me, you weren't. You were right, though. I _have_ been letting my residual anger get the better of me, letting it fester and ruin my relationship with the only family member I have left. The truth is, I just didn't know how to move on from the past. I guess Damon didn't know how to, either. My brother is very lucky to have you as his champion, and Caroline too. She's very vocal about him."

At the mention of Damon's name, my eyes strayed against my will to the man in question, catching me off guard when my eyes immediately met his penetrative blue ones. He had been watching me, or _us_, while we were talking, and now that he had my attention, his eyes never once wavered. I saw Care's lips moving a mile a minute and it appeared as if she was talking non-stop to him, but he didn't give any indication that he had heard anything she said. Our eyes remained locked, unblinking as we danced with our respective partners and the moment was filled with such an intense chemistry, I found it hard to even breathe.

To me, it felt like we were the only two people in the room. I pretended that the arms around me were his, that the head leaning lightly on mine was his. I found out later that the song was titled 'Hold Me In Your Arms' sung by Rick Astley in the late 80s. It would have been appropriate had it not been for Stefan's impeccable timing.

"I think my brother's in love for the first time in his life," Stefan whispered in my ear, breaking my intimate staring match with said brother. I leaned my head back and peered up at his green eyes in surprise.

"How do you know that?" I asked nervously, my heart racing in my chest. I had to mentally drag my mind to the small circle in my pocket, a reminder of the reality that was my predicament with Mason. I couldn't…. _shouldn't_ have hope for a future with another guy in my life right now. But it was hard to stifle the thought of it.

"Damon has never brought a girl home before, let alone introduces her to me. He seems more open, happier, than I've ever seen him. And of course, there's the obvious clue that he's falling head over heels in love," he paused dramatically, and I wanted to box his ears for stopping when my curiosity was at its peak. "He wouldn't shut up about her all week. I think that he planned this party just to get me to meet her, maybe get my stamp of approval or something and that shows how serious he is about Care. And she obviously cares deeply about him too."

Wait, _what_?! Care? As in Caroline? I froze in his arms and snapped my gaze to the couple in question, but they were no longer in sight. Belatedly, I realized that it was a different song this time, and I didn't even notice. Damon and Caroline had stopped dancing after that one song, and here I was, with his brother, still swaying like two idiots while he was telling me about how the guy I had a crush on was head over heels with my best friend. I wanted to cry.

"Excuse me, I have to, uh, go to the bathroom," I mumbled and without waiting for a reply, left him in the middle of the living room in search for some privacy to get my act together.

I went into the kitchen first, and then upon spotting Ric, Elijah and the very raven-haired man I wanted to avoid the most, I quickly dove through the nearest door, and found myself inside a spacious pantry or a store room of some kind. What mattered was that it was clean and it was quiet. I took the ring out of my pocket, and I could feel the weight of it, heavy on my palm. I stared at it, willing for it to provide me the answers I was searching for, but all it did was to remind me of what was waiting for me on the other side of town.

Right on cue, my phone buzzed, signaling an incoming message. I reached into my back pocket and fished out my phone, seeing two messages from Mason. One was from earlier in the evening that I had somehow missed:

**NEW MESSAGE FROM MASON**:

_I miss you and I love you, E. Have a happy Xmas Eve. Mase_

The most recent message read:

**NEW MESSAGE FROM MASON**:

_Merry Christmas in advance, babe. I need you back in my life. Hurry home. _

He _needed_ me. It felt good to hear that from someone, especially in light of everything that just happened. It felt good to be needed, and wanted. And loved.

However, I didn't want to make any hasty decisions about marrying someone who only said those things, probably because he knew that it was what I wanted to hear. If Mason wanted me back, he had to prove that he would practice what he preached. He needed to mean them. I wasn't about to throw caution to the wind just because he used a few choice words that meant a lot to me.

Feeling somewhat calmer, I decided to rejoin the party. I had been missing for fifteen minutes, any longer and Caroline would have sent out a search party. She was good at that, too. I meant to find solace and process what Stefan said about Damon's feelings for Care, but I ended up musing about Mason instead. I guess I just had to deal with it as it came.

I moved back towards the door and just as I opened it a crack, Damon's voice floated through the tiny gap I had created.

"….can't help but love her! I mean, she's loyal to her friends, she's protective over the people she cares about, she's supportive, kind, funny and beautiful, and we have a lot more in common that I thought. If my mother was alive, I know that she'd approve of her wholeheartedly. If I play my cards right, Caroline Forbes is going to be a Salvatore one day," he had announced vehemently.

Crash. Boom. Bang. That was the sound of my broken heart sinking to the pits of my stomach before they fractured into pieces. Well, there was nothing more final than to hear the truth from the horse's mouth. Despite the hollowness of my chest, I felt a deep calm settling over me. No longer was I plagued with uncertainties and doubts. Hearing Damon's words gave me a sudden clarity of my next course of action. I knew what I had to do now.

I stumbled out of the room into the brightly lit kitchen, catching the three men who were standing nearby by surprise. They didn't realize that I had eavesdropped on them just minutes before.

"Elena?" Damon asked in confusion, his brows wrinkling into a frown. "What were you doing in the pantry? In the dark? Are you drunk?"

Ha! I wish I was that lucky! "No, I had to make a call so I needed somewhere quiet. Sorry if I interrupted you guys," I replied as I swept my gaze over to the other two men. They were really great men and have proven to be good friends to me for the past couple of weeks. The world definitely needed more men like these ones. What were the odds that they lived in a small little town called Mystic Falls? There must be something in the water.

"You weren't interrupting anything," Elijah assured me with a grin, looking at me as if he knew a secret about me that no one else did. Okay, maybe Ric knew it, too because he was looking at me with the same expression. My mistake. These men were weirdos.

"Hey, listen, Damon," I addressed to the contemplative man, moving closer to him as his weirdo friends moved aside to give us some privacy. "I wanted to thank you for inviting me to this party, getting the tree and even getting Uncle Maurice to come. I know that you went to a lot of trouble to plan this because of what I told you about missing my parents at this time of year. I want you to know that I really appreciate everything you've done for me, not just today, but before, too. You're a really sweet and amazing guy, and I'm glad that we're friends, so thank you."

His blue eyes watched me warily as I leaned in, then I was hugging him as if my life depended on it. It was my goodbye to him, to the easy friendship that we had from the time we met at the hospital right up to today. Whatever happened from this point forth, I knew that we could never cross that line again. We would remain as friends, but there would no longer be any hand-holding or stolen hugs in the cemetery.

Standing on tiptoes, I reached up to press a platonic sisterly kiss on his cheek before I pulled back in time to catch his flabbergasted expression. Then I left him standing there in the kitchen while I searched for the blonde whom I owed so much to.

I found her talking to Uncle Maurice, giggling softly at whatever he just told her until she caught sight of my solemn appearance. "What's wrong, Elena?"

I shook my head hastily, giving her a small smile to ease her worry. I was upset when I first thought that she and Damon were seeing each other behind Tyler's back, but now, after she opened up her house for me when I needed a place to stay, and seeing how she was with Damon, I felt nothing but happiness for her to have a man like him so in love with her. I wanted to wish her well, and to find happiness with him, even if I was dying inside.

"Nothing's wrong, Care. I just wanted to thank you for letting me stay with you and for planning this awesome party with Damon. You've been my best friend from the moment we met and I want nothing but the best for you. So, thank you for being exactly who you are," I told her and then I proceeded to envelope her into a crushing hug which she returned.

"Awww, Elena, you're so sweet. You don't need to thank me," she responded, squeezing me tightly in return. "Wait, is this what I think it is?" she exclaimed suddenly, pulling back to peer at me. "Oh my God, Elena, you're a freaking genius! A _Thanksgiving_, a Halloween and a Christmas party all in one! Three birds, one stone! You're brilliant! Let me go announce it to everyone."

I reached out to grab her arm before she could manage to disappear from my sight, causing her to flash me a bewildered look. "What is it, Elena?"

"Damon loves you," I blurted out without further ado.

Caroline blinked at me with her wide blue-green eyes, completely shocked. Then she burst out laughing. "What?! No, he doesn't!"

"Yes, he does. I heard him telling Ric and Elijah in the kitchen just now. He loves you, Care and I think you should give him a chance. He's a great guy, really sweet and amazing and he deserves to be happy after everything he'd been through in the past. He can make you happy, too and I want that for you. You're my best friend and I love you but it's time you two stop taking care of me and let _yourselves_ take care of each other. You should go to him," I advised, pushing her towards the kitchen.

She didn't move, but continued to stare at me as if I was crazy. "You heard _him_ say that he loves me? From his mouth? Out loud? In English?"

I nodded firmly.

"Oh, I'll go to him, alright! I'll go and kick his ass for uttering such nonsense! Gah!" my best friend muttered under her breath and hurried off, leaving me alone with Uncle Maurice who was swaying on his feet while holding an almost empty bottle of whiskey.

"Merry Christmas, cutie pie," he slurred, and then walked away towards the front door. After a moment of contemplation, I followed after him, intending to see if I could thumb a ride with anyone who was leaving the party.

After an eventful day filled with at least _three_ highlights of the day, I was going home.

* * *

**Kristi's (tukct81), what can I say other than what I've said to thank you in my A/Ns the previous 9 chapters? Nothing much, that's what. So, I hope THANK YOU would suffice for putting up with my constant babbling.**

**Also, thanks a whole bunch to all my readers and regular reviewers. You are the reason that I keep writing regardless of how I feel and all that crap. You guys make it worthwhile to keep digging deep to explore the emotions that are required for such a story. I get emotionally drained after every chapter but then I do it all over again because of every single one of you. THANK YOU. **

**HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL!**


	11. Chapter 11

**A massive THANK YOU to the 50 (FIVE ZERO!) people who reviewed last chapter! I can't thank you enough! I've replied to all of you, except for those who weren't signed in or were anonymous. Just know that I appreciate all your kind words and support.**

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Will never attempt another LOOOONG chapter again. Ever. Also, new target: 15 chapters in total. Or 16. Maaaaybe 18. What the hell do I know? I'm just in charge of typing. I'll let the story decide. **

**AUTHOR'S NOTE 2: Remember that this is not a DELENA story in its core. It's about domestic violence and Elena's journey through it. Okay, now that I've sufficiently bummed you out, let's see what else happened during the Xmas party….from your favorite blue-eyed man's POV.**

* * *

**A Woman's Worth: Chapter ELEVEN**

_Damon's POV_

Normally, I'm not the type who likes a big crowd, especially when they are people I didn't know traipsing around my living room, dirtying my carpets. But I had to remind myself why I was doing this; both for my brother and for Elena.

I don't think that there is anything I wouldn't do for those two people. For my brother, I would ensure that he found a woman who possessed great qualities, one who could make him happier than anything, if only to make up for ruining his childhood and for denying him of our mother's love at such a young age. I was certain that Caroline was one such person.

As for _Elena_, I would be happy even if she would bestow me with one of her rare genuine smiles that seemed to appear on her face much easier these days compared to when I first met her. She had come a long way since she bravely left Lockwood, albeit meaning to only briefly leave him, but it all worked out in the end once he turned his back on her. I don't want to even consider what _could_ have happened if she hadn't had Caroline to take her in. I _could_ have, perhaps unwisely, stepped up and suggested for her to stay with me until we could think of an alternative, but I knew that once I had her under my roof, there was no way I could ever bear watching her leave it again. Leave _me_.

So there I was, surrounded by her college mates, courtesy of Caroline Forbes who thought it fitting to seemingly invite the whole campus to our Christmas party. My guest list was far shorter; my best buddies, the sexy doctor, my broody brother and one drunken Santa I picked up at the mall. That last one cost me two hundred bucks and a couple of nights' of hotel room stay just so he could at least appear washed and clean at the party.

Amongst the throng, I kept a lookout to catch a glimpse of Elena, wondering if she was pleased with the turnout, and whether she was having fun at all or if it brought back sad memories of her celebrating the holidays with her parents when they were still alive. As my eyes started searching the room for her, I came across another familiar face instead.

"Donovan?" I called out in surprise. I didn't expect to see my regular bartender at my house, drinking _my_ alcohol. "What are you doing here at my party?"

The blond haired and blue eyed guy came to a screeching halt in front of me when he heard his name being called, and did a double-take when he saw me. "_Salvatore_? This is _your_ house?" he asked, an awestruck expression appearing on his baby-face when I nodded and shrugged as if it was no big deal. I was used to that kind of reaction whenever people knew that I lived in that great big mansion on the outskirt of town. They get the same kind of fascinated look like this guy right here. "Umm, my sister Vicki goes to college with Caroline and Elena, so she invited me along since I'm off today. If _this_ is your house, then why would you and your friends hang out at the bar? You've got a very impressive stash of booze here, all vintage and most of it brewed before I was even born."

I nodded in agreement. My father's collection _was_ pretty impressive, except that I had never touched any of it, nor did I plan to. So I figured, why not break 'em out for the party? Perhaps it was petty revenge on my part, raiding his prized collection of the best brandy and whiskey for a bunch of strangers, but it wasn't as if my father would miss any of it.

"We like to support the local economy, and of course, I would hate to deny my favorite bartender the pleasure of my company! I'm sure you'll appreciate the quality of my father's best whiskey, so go ahead and drink your fill. Usual rates apply, so you can just pay me before the night is over, but just because it's _you_, I'll give you a thirty percent discount," I teased, completely straight-faced and noting his shocked expression at the thought of having to pay for a drink at a Christmas party. "I'm completely kidding," I chuckled loudly, clapping him on his back as he relaxed and gave a nervous laugh, "I don't give discounts." With that, I left the bewildered man to stare after me as I rejoined my two best friends.

"Hey, man," Ric greeted me with a nod of his head, a wry grin plastered on his face. "Great _frat_ party! The only thing missing is a beer keg!" he commented sarcastically. "Meredith had an emergency at the hospital so she said to tell you that she'll be late."

Shaking my head, I rolled my eyes at Elijah at the news that my favorite doctor had to work on the Christmas Eve. "That sucks, Ric. She's missing out on all the fun like she always does! I was just thinking how I should challenge her to a beer bong competition. When are you going to propose and pop out some babies so that she can be a full-time mom while you bring home the dough? I'd rather hang out with _her_ than seeing you two clowns all the time," I joked, still slightly miffed at their earlier prank with the Christmas tree. They were the reason I had to spend some alone time in my bedroom after I landed on top of the lovely and alluring Elena Gilbert!

"Oh please, as if you'd have time to hang out with any of us now that Elena's free to date whoever she wants," my detective friend said, gesturing to the brunette in question over by the fireplace, hugging my surprise for her. By surprise, I meant Uncle Maurice, the guy I picked up from a street corner near the mall. Okay, that did not come out the way I intended it to. I don't _usually_ pick up random strangers from street corners and Uncle Maurice was definitely _not_ some prostitute! Also, we had the same 'equipment' and I certainly did not swing for the same team. I should perhaps stop talking or thinking altogether before I dug a deeper hole for myself. Moving on.

"Yeah, so when are you going to move in and woo her?" Ric piped in.

Sometimes, Ric reminded me of an old wrinkly and male version of my aunt Beatrice with his outdated dating jargons. "_Woo_? This is the year two zero one two, Grandpa. Get with the times, will ya?"

My best friend was quick to hold up his hands in a surrender motion. "I'm sorry for being old-fashioned. So, when are you going to show her your 'I-Heart-Elena' tattoo? It's been two whole weeks since she broke up with Lockwood. Aren't you supposed to be trying to get into her pants right now instead of standing here with 'us two clowns'? Don't think we don't notice the way you two have been flirting with each other today," he said with a brow wiggle, which he totally stole from me. Ric didn't have a single flirty bone in his body, not even in his facial expressions. Sometimes, I wonder how he ever managed to land a hottie like Dr. Meredith Fell.

"We weren't flirting with each other!" I exclaimed defensively, frowning slightly at the thought of Elena knowing the depths of my feelings for her when she was supposed to be merely my charge and a friend. A friend I wanted to hug and kiss and cuddle and live happily ever after with. God, I was such a sap!

Two loud chuckles erupted around me, drawing me from my inner musings while the Tweedle twins managed to find humor in my romantic life, which was virtually non-existent at this point.

"Spare us your denial, Damon. We saw you two earlier, cuddling on the floor as if we weren't standing _right_ there. I daresay if we weren't, Ric and I would probably be uncles to a few-hours-old zygote right now!" Elijah announced, shocking to me to my very core. I had never realized how crude he could be before now. This had been a day of discovery, for sure.

As much as I wanted to object to their opinion of my inability to control myself – and my wandering sperm – around Elena, I had to obligingly agree that the chemistry between us were so much more palpable today than any other times before. Elena had been more open and jovial than I had ever seen her, and maybe _now_ might be the right time to cross over the line from friendship to a romantic relationship. Perhaps she _had_ moved on from Jerkwood and would be receptive to my 'wooing', as Ric had termed it.

So despite my earlier reservations about making my feelings known to a girl I had sworn to protect as my charge, I decided to give in to my feelings and to trust my boys' instincts that there _was_ something more to what Elena felt for me. Hell, I was even starting to think of Ric's suggestion about that tattoo to be acceptable, to the extent of contemplating which part of my lean body should bear the ink. But perhaps I'd settle for a customized tee shirt instead since I had a low threshold for pain. I certainly didn't want to bawl my eyes out in front of the girl I was trying to impress.

"Falling on top of her doesn't equal cuddling, okay?" I huffed in frustration, my mind now filled with inappropriate images of writhing body parts and lingering touches. Shaking my head to clear them, I set aside my pride and ventured for advice as to how to proceed from this point onwards. "Okay, let's say that if I _were _to start 'wooing' her, how should I go about it? Do I ask her out on a date? Like to the hospital?"

Two gaping mouths and perplexed expressions were the only reactions that I got from my two best friends for quite some time. "You bring your dates to a hospital?! Were you planning on injuring her with your massive man missile or something?" The question came from Elijah, who was frowning at my crotch for some reason.

"No, I meant to visit Anna. It's been a while since we visited her, so I thought why not make _that_ our first date since Elena is comfortable there. I don't want to move too fast too soon or it might just scare her off." I genuinely thought that I had hit upon a great idea but apparently, my boys didn't share the same sentiment.

"Did you hang your balls up as part of the scary Christmas tree?" Ric asked in exasperation. "You want a little six year-old to act as your chaperone on your first official date? Come on, Damon. Grow a pair and go kiss her already!"

I stared at him in disbelief, unable to process what I was hearing. It wasn't that long ago that I was sitting in Meredith's office, confronted by this very same guy, advising me not to cross that line with a charge and to remain professional. And now suddenly, he was encouraging us to play some tonsil tennis? Who was this sandy haired man and what did he do to my best friend? Whatever the answer was, I found myself preferring the new and improved Ric, even if he had been invaded by an alien.

"I can't just go up to her and kiss her! What if she rejects me?"

"She won't, not if you carry one of these with you," he replied, gesturing to his crotch. For a moment there, I didn't know what to think. Then I looked harder to see what _exactly_ he was referring to and that was when I saw the sprig of mistletoe he had attached to his belt. Oh. "Damon, it's the perfect setup. It's Christmas eve so it's completely expected for two people to kiss under a mistletoe," he explained, his eyes twinkling with amusement.

Oh. Eww. Now I got it, why he had that sprig tied on his belt instead of carrying it around like a normal person would. Two people were supposed to kiss _under_ a mistletoe, so if Meredith was around to do any kissing, it would be to an area _below_ his belt. Seriously sick.

Luckily, the other best friend interjected before I could purge Elena's Halloween log cake out through my mouth. "First of all, that's gross and highly inappropriate, Ric. And second of all… ignore him, Damon. Elena's a really special girl, and if you really want to begin a closer relationship with her, you have to take it one step at a time. Try asking her to dance for a start," Elijah urged, simultaneously turning me around so that I was facing the makeshift dance floor, where Elena was standing near to it.

It seemed like the perfect suggestion to kick start what could potentially be the love story of the century, so I nodded jerkily and began to make my way over to where she was standing alone, plastering a determined look on my face. As I approached her, the beginning notes of a familiar song started playing in the background and I recognized it the instant she turned her face up to my direction, and just as our eyes met, I thought to myself, how apt that our first dance would be to a song titled 'Hold Me In Your Arms'. I couldn't have planned it better myself.

My lips were widening into a smile as I closed our distance, her face taking on an expectant expression, but then suddenly, someone walked into my line of sight, breaking our eye contact. Reluctantly, I shifted my attention to the person who dared to interfere into a very private moment, only to rear back in shock when I saw that it was my very own brother. He was holding his arm out to her while I stared in confusion at the scene before me. In a moment of panic, I didn't know what else to do but to change course towards the next person I recognized in the crowded room; Blondie. Thank God!

"Hey, dance with me," I said to Caroline hastily, and without giving her a chance to decline or to accept, I pulled her arm rather roughly towards the mismatched couple, hoping to be able to eavesdrop in on their conversation. I dragged the blonde in my arms as close as possible to where they were dancing, trying valiantly to be less obvious about my intention while forcing myself to avert my eyes from Elena's upturned face.

I succeeded all of five seconds, and then I threw caution to the wind and allowed myself the luxury of staring directly at her beautiful features, wondering how a simple plan like asking her to dance could go so wrong. I heard Stefan's low voice muttering something to her and then out of the blue, what sounded like my name was mentioned and that made her eyes snapped to mine. I should have been embarrassed that she caught me staring at her, but I couldn't bring myself to turn away, not when she was looking at me in a way that had chills running up and down my spine in a tickle. She almost seemed apologetic that she was dancing with my brother.

As my body swayed automatically to the music without thinking, nothing around me registered except for the intense eye-sex Elena and I had going on. If anything, it was as if we both were afraid to even blink or else the moment would be over just like that. This was by far the most intimate I had been with a woman, a silent communication of our mutual interest spanning across the short distance that separated us. If anything, the distance between us gave it that much more intimacy, like a delicate push-pull of our amazing chemistry since the first time I laid eyes on her on the hospital bed. In that moment, she was mine and mine alone.

As soon as that profound thought crossed my mind, it was as if I had jinxed it, because then she was gazing up at Stefan, abruptly breaking our eye contact. I groaned inwardly in denial, but then finally realizing that the persistent buzzing sound in my ear from the start of the dance till now was none other than the pesky mosquito known as Caroline Forbes. It sounded as if she had been talking non-stop, only I didn't realize it at the time until now that the spell was broken.

"…..the hell you doing, asking me to dance when you're barely even moving! I've got a reputation as an awesome dancer and now you've reduced me into a swaying tree! And you, you're the guy who's supposed to lead but I don't think you're even listening to me. Well, are you? You're not, see? Elena's wearing her red lacy undies! She…she's wearing nipple rings! She's got a dick! She's actually a halfling from the Land of Halves," Care rambled in hushed tones, sounding incredibly frustrated. Despite my _own_ frustrations, I had to stifle an urge to laugh at the outrageous stuff she was spewing to get my attention.

It worked. "Maybe it's safer for me if we stopped 'swaying like trees', eh? You're kinda scaring me with images of a Halfling with nipple rings and a penis." I released her and stepped back when she rolled her eyes at me.

"I didn't know you were listening," she said while wearing a sheepish smile. "Elena doesn't have a dick, nor does she wear nipple rings. The red lacy _underwear_, on the other hand-"

"I don't need to hear about that," I interrupted hastily, shaking my head at her overzealous need to overshare. "Thanks for the dance, Care." Shooting another peek over her blonde curls at the dancing couple who seemed to be engrossed in their own discussion, I led her away and rejoined my two buddies who appeared to have witnessed my debacle on the dance floor.

Shoving his hands into his pockets, Ric greeted me first. "Well _that_ was awkward," he sighed, clearly disappointed with the outcome of my attempt to ask Elena to dance. It was actually pretty sweet how invested he was in my love life. Gesturing with a head tilt towards the couple a distance away, he said, "From what I could see, though, it was obvious that Elena preferred to dance with _you_, if that's any consolation. Stefan just had terrible timing, that's all."

"I think it's great that they're friends," I commented moodily. "My brother needs more people he can talk to and Elena's a sweetheart, so I'm glad they're getting along. I mean, I love my brother and all, but I kind of want to thump him on the head for stealing my thunder. Why couldn't he have asked Care to dance? Or Uncle Maurice, at least?" Fine, I was sulking at this point, but it was such a wasted opportunity, with the right setting, the right song, the right girl, and all I had to do was to take three more steps forward and she would have been in my arms. I probably should have mowed my brother down and sent for Caroline to tend to his injuries.

Ever the detective even when he was off-duty, Elijah studied me with his warm brown eyes. "Are you by any chance trying to pull off a love match between Stef and Caroline? Because you weren't being very subtle about it earlier when you were introducing them, you know? Any idiot could see it."

"You were? Why didn't _I_ didn't notice anything?" Ric wondered with a frown, his ears perking up with interest.

"Like I said, any idiot could see it, but apparently, Ric's even more an idiot than I originally thought," Elijah smirked, quickly stepping away to narrowly escape from Ric's playful nudge. They were _both_ idiots!

I turned around and cast a furtive look around us, not wanting to be overheard, so I pulled them both towards the kitchen for some privacy. "Okay, before you tell me what a bad idea it is, I just need you to hear me out. My brother is single, and has been all his life, right? He hardly has any friends and I think that's mainly because of what happened when we were kids, and you know, losing both our parents. Other than law school, and the occasional visits to the town library, where else is he going to meet an eligible bachelorette? What he needs is a nice, caring and happy-go-lucky type of girl who can draw him out of his shell and hopefully turn him from McBroody into Mr. Happy Meal!"

"So _that's_ your brilliant plan? Driving your new female friend and your only sibling through a McDonald's drive-thru? Shouldn't there be other components to a blossoming romance other than their single statuses, like, I don't know, _feelings_ perhaps? Maybe even some mutual attraction?" Ric asked incredulously. Oh 'ye of little faith in my matchmaking skills. I was Cupid and my arrows had been aimed and shot, and they were already off to a great start!

"Come on, can't you see it yet? They are great together! They already call each other by their nicknames, they just spent a fun afternoon dressing up the tree together, and we all had a little laugh at Elena's expense with her 'cunnilinguistic' skills. I have never seen Stefan laugh so hard in my life before; he was actually happy! You two have known Care for a few weeks and you know as well as_ I_ do that you just can't help _but_ love her! I mean, she's loyal to her friends, she's protective over the people she cares about, she's supportive, kind, funny and beautiful, and we have a lot more in common than I thought. If my mother was alive, I know that she'd approve of her wholeheartedly. And if I play my cards right, Caroline Forbes is going to be a Salvatore one day."

I paused emphatically to allow them some time to soak up the wisdom of my words, knowing that they would come around to the idea eventually. It wasn't hard to see how right those two were for each other, except for themselves, but that's why they had _me_ to look out for them. I could just imagine how their future would look like, filled with laughter and romance, kind of like what I had imagined for Elena and myself, if we ever started dating. Maybe we could even plan a double-date!

As if by some design, who would come stumbling out of my pantry but my multi-talented charge, the one and only Elena Gilbert? I surely didn't expect to see her coming out of a tiny room that was joined with the kitchen which stored nothing by real cobwebs and canned goods. Maybe even cobwebs _in_ canned goods, as I hadn't been in there for ages. "Elena? What were you doing in there? In the dark? Are you drunk?" Funny, I hadn't even seen her holding a drink the entire night.

She made some flimsy excuses about needing somewhere quiet to make a call, and then after some hesitation, I saw her moving closer to me as my friends stealthily moved away to give us some space. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw both Elijah and Ric flashing me a thumbs-up sign, and I had to resist an urge to grin back at them for the sudden opportunity to spend some alone time with her.

"I wanted to thank you for inviting me to this party, getting the tree and even getting Uncle Maurice to come. I know that you went to a lot of trouble to plan this because of what I told you about missing my parents at this time of year," she swallowed convulsively before continuing on. "I want you to know that I really appreciate everything you've done for me, not just today, but before, too. You're a really sweet, amazing guy, and I'm glad that we're friends, so thank you," she finished softly, almost sadly.

_Friends_? Well, I suppose we were, but I wanted so much more than merely friendship with her. I said nothing as she leaned in closer and closer, my heart pounding in my chest as she wrapped me into a tight embrace. Sure, it wasn't the first time we had ever hugged, but somehow, this time, it felt different…more. It was as if she poured her whole being into it, her fingers gripping my back to the point of pain, but it was the sort of pain I welcomed. Hope rose in my chest as I stood still, basking in her warmth, until she loosened her hold on me. I expected her to say something, but no, she did something else I totally didn't see coming.

She kissed me.

Fine, it was only on my cheek, and it was more of a friendly thank-you-for-being-a-wonderful-bastard kind of kiss but….wow. It was soft, it was romantic, and it was incredibly sweet but all too soon, it was over. I could only stare down at her in wonder as she pulled back, and then she left me standing stock still in my kitchen without another word. My hand raised to cover my tingling cheek on its own accord as my buddies re-entered the room right after Elena left, my eyes still trained on the archway where she walked through just a few seconds ago.

I exhaled the breath I had been holding in a rush, feeling my entire body go slack as my energy drained out of me. I sank down backwards, not caring whether I would fall on my ass to the floor, but then I heard the scraping of the legs of a chair as Elijah swiftly pushed one directly beneath me just as I landed somewhat clumsily.

"She's driving me crazy, but I like it," I breathed out.

Ric seemed a little puzzled by my reaction, as proven when he laid his palm flat against my forehead as if checking for a high temperature. "What happened? What did she say?"

"She thanked me for Uncle Maurice and kissed my cheek," I sighed with a dreamy smile on my lips. "I swear I'm going to marry that girl one day," I declared seriously without a doubt in my mind.

My sandy-haired best friend did a double-take upon hearing the M-word. "Really? After _one_ peck on the cheek? Man, you're cheap! At least wait till you've had se-"

"Damon Salvatore!" a booming female voice suddenly came from the archway, and then a blonde avenging angel swooped into the kitchen. I could almost see smoke coming out of her ears. Uh oh. "_Please_ tell me you didn't announce in front of Elena that you love me! Tell me that you have a brain _somewhere_ in that gorgeous head of yours, _even_ if it's just a tiny lump of coal!" she exclaimed heatedly, her eyes flashing with frustration.

For a second there, I was afraid for my life. I could handle Chatterbox Caroline, or even Energizer Bunny Caroline, but an Angry Caroline? Promptly, I stood up and hid behind my two wingmen, both equally as wary of her.

"Wh-what the hell are you talking about?"

The blonde actually stamped her foot impatiently as she seethed in front of us. "Elena just told me that she heard you telling these two that you love _me_, and then she said that you're such a sweet, amazing guy and that you deserve to be happy," she said with a disgusted expression as she pointed her forefinger down her throat and made gagging faces after each compliment. I should have been affronted by her disgust, but I was more preoccupied with this sudden development. "Did you or did you not say out loud, in _English_, the L-word and my name in the same sentence?"

Swallowing nervously, I exchanged glances with my two wingmen and nodded. "I may have said that you're awesome and that we _all_ can't help _but_ to love you, but I didn't know that Elena heard me. It was a compliment, not a declaration of feelings! I love you like how I love Pig, you know, with a little annoyance mixed in with a healthy dose of disgust! Was that not okay?" I asked, rapidly filled with uncertainty now.

"Not okay?! Not okay is the understatement of the year!" she screeched, pacing around the kitchen now. "Okay, breathe, Caroline. I can figure this out, really, I can. Just because Damon's a moron doesn't mean this can't be fixed. Ughh, he had to go and use the L-word….."

We all watched with reluctant amusement as Blondie gave herself a pep talk, no doubt up to her usual mischief again. So it was a misunderstanding again, similar to when Elena walked in on me and her best friend hugging after the whole Tyler fiasco. We got over that! "Relax, Care, so we'll just explain it to Elena in a jiffy. No big deal," I reassured her with a hopeful smile. She really had to make a mountain out of a molehill sometimes.

"No," she shook her head sadly, pinning me with a genuinely worried look. "You don't understand. She seemed sad, and she actually encouraged us to get together and make each other happy. This wasn't like how it was before, when she walked in on us hugging at my house. She misunderstood that situation too, but _this_ time, I don't know, I felt like something huge is happening to her. I'm usually penile psychic – the ability to sense when a man's thinking with Mr. Helmet Head - and I can tell when something's up, like how _yours_ was up the whole day today," she said, glaring at me with such repugnance that I was actually worried if she knew of my private session in my 'Masturbate Room' earlier. "But I'm also extremely sensitive to a hurting heart, and I could tell that she was really upset earlier. It must be my Cancer star sign; we're incredibly empathic individuals."

Okay, _now_ I was a tiny bit worried. "Are you sure you're not being overdramatic, like more than usual?" It was a fair question and I could feel both Ric and Elijah nodding their heads in agreement.

"I wish! There was just something off with the way she thanked me for letting her stay at my house, and for being my normal awesome self. It didn't hit me at first, but now I can't help but think that it sounded an awful lot like a goodbye."

I gasped when I managed to move past that kiss on my cheek memory and recalled that I received a similar grateful speech from her. "She gave you the same speech too, didn't she?" she asked and I nodded with increasing worry. "Alright, that's it, no more being Mr. Wishy Washy, Damon. I'm going to look for her and I'm gonna bring her right back here, and _you_ are going to sit her down and tell her that you're in love with her. And _then_, you are going to sweep her off her feet, dip her low, kiss her and let her know how eager you are to have her babies!"

With that emphatic declaration, she disappeared into the crowd in the living room with a flash of blonde curls. A chuckle came from my right side, followed by Ric's gleeful voice. "You were right, Damon. I can see how she'd bring Stef out of his funk. She's just a bundle of fun, that one!"

Just then, another brunette came gliding into the kitchen. "Sorry I'm late, boys. Had an emergency with a patient," Meredith announced as she removed her coat, revealing a nurse's outfit she must have borrowed from one of the hospital staff.

"You're three hours late to my party and you can't even put on a _slutty_ nurse outfit?" I asked with a disappointed frown, pretending that I wasn't completely confused about what I was going to say to Elena when Blondie dragged her back here.

"My patient just died on my watch, so I was in no mood to go home and change. Besides, why am _I _the only one in costume? Isn't this supposed to be a Halloween cum Christmas party?" she asked as her gaze swept across the three of us and then to the living room.

I lifted a brow and made a sweeping gesture at my apparel. "Umm, I'm Simon Cowell. Can you not tell from my impossibly tight black shirt, blue jeans and perky man-nipples?" Seriously, what was taking Blondie so long? It was becoming such a chore, pretending to be in a good mood when my head was in turmoil.

"Isn't that what you wear on a daily basis?" Elijah piped in with a grin. "I'm here as a normal pedestrian, as opposed to my regular Detective Mikaelson look. Isn't this groovy, baby?" Man, I wished that Elena would get here soon, because I'd rather be uncomfortable spilling my true feelings for her than to listen to Elijah's failed Austin Powers impression.

Not to be outdone, Ric waved his hands excitedly and pointed to his belt with the mistletoe attached to it. "Honey, look what I got! We're supposed to kiss _under_ the mistletoe at the stroke of midnight, right?" It was official; my best friend is a pervert. I found myself envying him because he had someone like Meredith to be perverted with. I wondered if I could have _that_ with Elena someday.

"Yes, of course, right after you take that belt off and hold it over your head. We don't even need to wait until midnight," she replied with a broad grin, proving why she had the brains to be a doctor while the rest of us were mere mortals.

"Damon, I can't find her!" Blondie proclaimed as she rushed over once again. "I don't think Elena's _anywhere_ in the mansion."

"Oh, I saw her leaving as I was coming in. I was going to ask why she left just minutes before midnight," Meredith said.

Elena _left_? But _how_? And _why_? "She doesn't have a ride anywhere, does she?" I wondered, feeling panic rising in my chest now. For a fleeting second, I had a vision of her being kidnapped right in front of my driveway and it scared the hell out of me.

"I saw her getting into Matt Donovan's truck as I pulled up, but I didn't get a chance to talk to her. Did something happen?"

_Donovan_? My bartender, Donovan? Damn it, I should have given him that discount!

Blondie released a loud groan, shaking her head helplessly. "I knew it! See, I told you I was psychic! I knew she was upset, but I didn't think that she'd leave. Damon, we have to look for her, come on," she ordered, tugging at my arm to move and so I _did_, automatically without further hesitation. It was almost midnight and if we hurried, and drove like maniacs, there was a chance that we would make it to Blondie's house just in time for Christmas. Ric's mistletoe suggestion seemed like a great idea right about now, too.

"Damon, there you are! I need to ask you something," Stefan appeared beside me as if by magic as soon as I crossed over the kitchen archway. Jeez, what was with all the cock-blocking going on today? That was twice now that my little brother stood in the way of me getting to Elena! If he wasn't my brother, I'd probably flash him my longest finger already!

"Umm, not exactly the _best_ time, brother. I need to discuss something with Elena," I flashed him an absentminded smile and clapped him on the back and made a move towards a very impatient Caroline.

To my surprise, Stefan smiled shyly at me and held out an arm to stop me. "That's _exactly_ who I wanted to ask about," he announced a little timidly, piquing my interest. I signaled for Blondie to go ahead without me and that I'd catch up, and then turned back to study my brother. He seemed to be blushing and jittery, as if he was reluctant to address a topic he wasn't comfortable with.

"You guys are close friends, right? I mean, you can talk to her about stuff like what happened to mom and about what dad did?" he asked hesitantly, and then I nodded wordlessly as I waited for the punch line. He was studying to be lawyer, so I knew that he had a point somewhere. It was just a matter of _when_ he'd get there.

"Earlier, on the dance floor and also during the afternoon when I accompanied her to find a bathroom, we talked about some stuff, like our past and I was surprised that you actually told her about what happened to our family. She seemed to be able to understand it on a level unlike anyone ever has before, and she gave me some advice. Advice about _you_, actually."

Whoa. Elena advised him about _me_? "Wh-what did she say, exactly?" Despite my urgency to get to her, I couldn't leave now that Stefan and I were having a normal conversation. Plus, I was really curious about the advice that she gave him that made him able to open up and talk about the past like it was no longer a sore subject between us.

"She basically made me realize that the past _should_ remain in the past, and that I shouldn't be holding a grudge against you for something that happened _nine_ years ago. No, hear me out, Damon," he held up his palm to stop me as I began to interrupt him. "I suppose I _did_ blame you when Mother died, even though I knew that you had a very good reason to stay away after everything Father did to you. Elena told me that you still feel guilty and responsible for what happened, but I want you to know that I no longer blame you. I was angry, yeah, but I know that it wasn't your fault. Mother's _death_ wasn't your fault, Damon, so you shouldn't keep punishing yourself for having the strength to leave when she couldn't. It was Mom's choices that led to her death, not yours and I'm sorry for not seeing that sooner."

To say that I was shocked speechless was an understatement. This was raw emotion he was showing me, and he was talking about it like a calm adult, no judgement in his tone, no anger, and most of all, no bitterness. For the first time since we became orphans, he was looking at me openly, his green eyes clear of blame and anguish. I knew that this was the turning point for my relationship with my brother, and it could be the very chance I wanted from him to reinforce our bonds of brotherhood, to move past our childhood tragedy and become best friends again. It was what I had waited nine years for.

"You got all that just from _one_ conversation with Elena?" I chuckled with relief. Honestly, will that girl ever cease to amaze me?

Stefan released a chuckle of his own, looking down to the floor as if he was embarrassed by something. "She just has a way about her that seemed different from other girls," he answered simply, and I nodded my head in agreement. Yup, it was the power of one Elena Gilbert! "There's also something else I wanted to ask you. Since you're such good friends with her, do you think it'll be okay if you gave me her number? I'm thinking of asking her out on a date this New Year's Eve. I would have asked her directly, but I can't seem to find her."

I stared at my brother with my mouth hanging open, unable to believe my ears. A _date_? With _Elena_? I stayed motionless and silent for a long time, trying to process the idea that my brother was interested in a woman I was in love with. I couldn't make sense of it. It didn't compute. Was this also a belated April Fool's joke played by Caroline or the guys? Was it just a nightmare and why couldn't I wake up from it?

My day started with me feeling like it was the happiest day of my life. I was so excited to spend the whole day with my close friends and the woman I would die for. How the hell did I end up _here_, with a severe ache in my chest and resisting screaming out in pain?

Yes, the plan was to get my brother to meet the two new women in my life. I just didn't count on him falling in love with the wrong one. The one that was supposed to be mine.

The saddest part of it was, she was never mine to begin with.

* * *

I muttered some lame excuse to Stefan and walked back upstairs to my room dejectedly, completely forgetting that I had somewhere else to be. Caroline was waiting for me, but I couldn't bring myself to care at the moment. Elena got a ride home with a friend, so she was safe for now. She misunderstood my relationship with her best friend and that was probably why she decided to bail the party and went back to the Forbes' residence to sulk. Caroline would find her and explain that it was all a big mistake.

But now _I_ had an even bigger dilemma in my hands. One was a woman I had sworn to protect and in the process, found myself completely falling in love with. And the other was my own brother, the only family I had left who had a difficult time connecting to anyone since childhood. Now he finally started feeling something for someone else, and he was happy for once. If it was _any_ other person, I would have been overjoyed that he was able to connect with her so deeply and so fast, and as a result of that, even our brotherly relationship was on the road to recovery. My brother had to be the most important person in my life, his happiness was my utmost priority. I couldn't be selfish with him and deny him that chance.

But then again, there was _Elena_…..

Downstairs, I could hear sounds of merriment as the seconds drew nearer to midnight. The laughter and shouts reminded me of the present I had prepared for Elena, and it was sitting on top of my bed, perfectly wrapped with red and white ribbons and a festive wrapping paper. Thanks to Elijah, I was her Secret Santa and I couldn't wait to see her expression when I presented her with part one of her gift, something that she had undoubtedly been missing, and perhaps thought she'd never see again. As for the second part of her gift, well, it was something that meant a lot to me and I couldn't see anyone other than Elena having it.

I approached my bed slowly and sank down on it wearily. Reaching over to lift the gift, I tore through the ribbons and wrapping before I removed the contents, holding them gingerly in my palms. My eyes softened at the sight of the newly 'healed' teddy bear, Mr. Cuddles, looking especially chubby with extra cotton stuffing I had some people put in. After Lockwood's violent encounter with him, I had him sent to a special stuffed toys hospital, where they specialized in repairing and mending 'broken' dolls and such. It cost a lot, but it was worth it just to see the look of delight on Elena's face when I returned her bear to her.

The other item in my palm belonged to my mother; an antique locket with Elena's birthstone. Their birthdays shared the same month, so it was fitting that my mother's most prized possession would be given to the only woman I've ever loved. I knew that my mother would want me to give it whoever I deemed worthy of wearing it, probably my future wife, but now, I wasn't so sure anymore. With Stefan's feelings complicating matters between us, I didn't see a way that I could give this to Elena. Not unless I gave it to Stefan to give it to her instead, though it didn't seem right somehow. Nothing did, anymore.

My phone rang loudly suddenly, tearing my attention from the gifts to the ringing device in my jeans pocket. "Hello," I greeted dully, not even bothering to check the caller ID.

"Damon, she's gone. She left." I could barely make out Caroline's shaky voice as she sobbed into the phone.

"What do you mean 'gone'? Where did she go?" I asked distractedly, still feeling numb at the unfolding of recent events.

"I got home just in time to see her leaving with everything she had. She-she left with Mason, Damon. She's going back to him."

This day just kept getting worse as time went on. As if my heart hadn't been broken enough with the idea of potentially losing Elena to my brother, now I had to watch her go back into that death trap she escaped from two weeks ago. This girl wasn't strong…she was _foolish_! And I was stupid to even think that I could change a thing!

Ignoring the painful sobs coming from the other end of the line, I disconnected the phone and threw it aside as if it was dipped in poison. That's when I heard the start of the countdown to what should have been a magical Christmas filled with joy and cheer. All I felt was an empty void.

A chorus of voices shouted at the top of their lungs, "5…4…3…2…1…Merry Christ-"

"FUCK!" I screamed out in agony as I threw the locket, the bear, the box it came with and even the ribbons towards the farthest corner of my room.

Making a snap decision, I strode towards my underwear drawer and roughly pulled it open, my hand reaching in and rummaged around until I found what I was looking for. When my fingers wrapped around the smooth and cool surface of a bottle, I extracted my hand and studied it, my mind remembering a time when it was all I had left in my life.

I unscrewed the cap and inhaled the aroma like I did thousands of times before. But _this_ time, I placed my lips over the circular opening and tilted my head back, feeling the burn in my throat as I took my first swallow in nine years. The taste of my father's expensive bourbon was foreign and yet familiar at the same time. Then I took another swallow and then another, and another.

Nothing mattered anymore. I was done. _So_ done.

* * *

**My twitter: cgsa_cher **

**Thank my beta, the talented Kristi's (tukct81), for her wonderful beta work. I figured multiple Thank Yous would be far more effective than just my one measly thanks.**

**Happy NINA's Birthday!**


	12. Chapter 12

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry for the delay, you guys. Real life, work and a very remote location got in the way, and I've been MIA for almost the entire week. Life sucks when you're an adult with responsibilities with no access to the Internet. So very sorry. **

**AUTHOR'S NOTE 2: A big thank you to those who read and reviewed again. I love you all like how Elena loves Damon, except with zero chance of sex from me. No, not even a kiss with tongue. You heard me!**

**AUTHOR'S NOTE 3: Happy Belated Birthday, Angela76! **

* * *

**A Woman's Worth: Chapter TWELVE**

_Damon's POV_

Thump, thump, thump, thump.

For the first time in years, I woke up with a pounding headache from my deep slumber to the sound of persistent banging. My first thought was that I had a bullet lodged in my head, and that by some miracle, I had managed to survive only to feel every painful twinge. And then my second thought was whether we had a pet woodpecker that I didn't know about, and I wondered why it picked _today_ of all days to wreak havoc on a nearby tree right outside my window.

My heavy lids drifted close again but just as I was about to reunite with my dream version of Elena, who in my mind was laying between silk sheets looking angelic yet flirty at the same time, the loud banging sounds thundered through the house again.

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang.

I groaned out loud as the sound reverberated around in my ear, sending a sharp, shooting pain to my throbbing head.

"Shut up and go peck on another tree, stupid bird!" I yelled out and flung a pillow towards the nearest window in my room, hoping that the action would scare the bird silly. Not quite ready to rejoin the land of the living yet, I grabbed another pillow and covered my head with it, struggling to keep the image of Elena's warm and inviting body next to mine.

Then I got all confused when I heard my bedroom door creak open, and I thought to myself: how in the world did the bird make its way from the tree outside to my bedroom door _inside_ the house and then managed to turn my doorknob without fingers and thumbs?

"I hope you're wearing pants, buddy, because I'm about to kick your ass and I won't like it if my heel gets stuck in your butt crack!" came a high-pitched voice from a distance away.

Since when do birds wear heels and get so cranky?

"Damon 'Starsky' Salvatore! Get up, get up, get up!" the 'bird' yelled from right above me, and it sounded suspiciously like Blondie, despite the sound barrier I had erected around my head with a pillow. And then my whole body erupted into tiny explosions of pain when I felt the entire bed rock violently.

Feeling as if I had somehow stepped onto a rocky boat that had been caught in the midst of a thunderstorm, I flung my pillow aside and dragged my eyes open to find not only a very determined blonde, but also my wrinkly-faced pug jumping _on_ my bed.

"S-stop," I croaked out after a few attempts of holding back my nausea from the movements. I lurched upright in alarm when I found myself a recipient of a very wet tongue bath on the entire left side of my face and then sagged with relief upon finding out that it was from Pig, and not the _other_ bitch.

Sorry if I was being a little too harsh on nauseatingly sweet, caring and kind Caroline, but she _had_ just interrupted my naughty dream time with Elena!

"Oh good, you're awake," Blondie commented matter-of-factly, as if it was an everyday occurrence for her to be standing on top of my bed, in my room and wearing her usual obscenely high heels...in pink.

Wait, _what_?!

"No pointy shoes on my silk sheets, Blondie," I lamented in despair, my heart aching at the sight of my soiled sheets, effectively perking me up from my hangover.

"Whoops, sorry," she said, jumping down from my bed to stare down at me as I pinched my eyes shut while rubbing my temples in circular motions. "God, you sleep like the dead! I was just standing outside, ringing the bell for like ten minutes at least, until Stef let me in."

I sighed deeply and rubbed my eyes, mentally cursing myself for succumbing to the bottle again. _Almost_ nine and a half years. It was such a great run too, but I had to destroy it over a girl. But not just _any_ girl; it was over Elena Gilbert.

Just thinking about her brought back the pain of realization that she was, once again, back with Jerkwood. The girl had been beaten, almost to the point of death at one time, and then alienated by him from her own best friend, and goodness knows what _else_ behind closed doors. And just when I thought that she was finally safe from that monster, and _right_ before I was about to declare my feelings, she went right back to the man who made her life a misery.

Fuck this.

"Yeah, well that's what happens when I pass out," I told her somewhat emotionlessly, pulling myself upright to take a wobbly step towards my dresser.

It was at that moment that Blondie realized that I was still in my clothes from last night. "W-wh-why were you passed out? And why are you still in your party clothes? And why didn't you come over after I called you last night? You _did_ hear me telling you that Elena's gone again, right?" she asked relentlessly as she pieced the puzzles together, frowning at me. She then allowed her eyes to wander around the room, looking for further clues for my peculiar behavior.

She released a shocked gasp shortly after, and I knew that my life would never be the same again. I could practically see my life flashing before my eyes, probably only mere moments from a horrible death ala high heel in between my butt cheeks.

_Goodbye, Elena. It was nice knowing you_.

"You're _drinking_ again?!" she shrieked, making me wince at the high decibel. My head was throbbing and my mind, a blurry mess, but her tone was definitely more effective than any 'hair of the dog' cure for my residual hangover. "Damon, please tell me that _that_ empty whiskey bottle has been sitting there for the last nine years, and you were just admiring the shape of the bottle neck because it reminded you of a certain part of your body!"

Okay, it shouldn't be surprising that she even managed to shock my sensibilities as well as my dog's, as proven when Pig up and left the room, her head downcast as she ran out the door that was left ajar. I ignored Blondie's indignant expression as I pulled a fresh change of clothes from my dresser. Yup, I finally made it all the way to the other side of my room in one piece.

"Damon, I know that it seems as if all hope is lost now, what with Elena's stupid insistence to play the role of a victim again, but you can't do this. You need to stop moping, right _now_, and we need to go rescue her and get her back again. We did it before, and we can do it again," she implored, coming to stand behind me.

I shook my head stubbornly in disagreement. "We didn't do anything before. She _came_ to us, remember? We never rescued her at all, but merely distracted her long enough by prolonging the inevitable. She was bound to return to him sooner or later. I can't save someone who doesn't want to be saved, Care."

I started to make my way into my spacious bathroom, but stopped when I felt her hands on my arm, tugging me back. Funny, I thought I made it clear that the conversation was over.

"You don't get to do this, Damon. You don't get to give up on my best friend just because of one setback. She listened to us before, she'll listen to us again," she said, but I was done with the whole thing. I tried to shrug my way out of her tight grip, but she wasn't taking 'no' for an answer. "No, you're not moving until you hear me out, or else I-I-I'll go to Elena and tell her that you love her!"

That threat managed to get my attention where nothing else could. "So what if I _do_ love her? What does that get me and how does it help her?" I asked as I whipped my head around to stare down at the blonde. "It's nothing but an inconvenience, is what it is. It's my _feelings_ that caused her to go back to that monster in the first place. She doesn't want _me_, she never did. If she had, I would have stood a better chance of getting through to her. Ric was right all along; I shouldn't have let my feelings interfere with how I usually deal with a case."

"Case? Elena's not a-a-a _case_! She's a very confused girl who misunderstood our relationship and _that's_ why she ran off. She was so happy yesterday, Damon. You saw her! Did she seem like she was about to go running back to Mason when she was clinging onto you during the whole Christmas tree fiasco?" she burst out angrily, refusing to give up on her crusade of making me see the light. Oh I _saw_ the light, alright. It just wasn't the same one that she was seeing. Mine was more bleak and gloomy, almost like a badly lit horror movie from the 70s.

Caroline wasn't finished with her outburst, though. At this rate, I wasn't going to shower for the next century or so, so I might as well look for another bottle of bourbon and file my nails while I listened to her.

"Elena even wanted to help repair the rift between you and brother, too, did you know that? She spent the afternoon talking to Stef, trying to convince him to forget about the past, to see the work you've done all these years to better yourself. If you ask me, I'd say that she wanted to do that for _you_, because she cares about you. How do you think she will feel if she finds out that you've started drinking again and because of her, too? Guilty, that's how she'll feel."

I was about to open my mouth to reply, but then my bedroom door widened further and we both turned to see an amused Stefan casually leaning against the door frame, a smile on his face. Was it wrong that my first impulse was to smack him silly for being so happy when my life was falling apart?

"Hey now, you two having a little lover's spat on Christmas morning? What's the matter, Care? Did my big brother forget your present?" he drawled lazily from my doorway. It appeared as if he didn't overhear the part about my drinking again, or he would have commented on that piece of news.

Belatedly, I realized what he said. Lover's spat? _Not him, too_, I groaned inwardly. Apparently, Caroline picked up on that as well.

"_Lover's_ spat?! You think Damon and I are _lovers_, as in having sex, like how guys and girls do if they're dating?" she exclaimed in disbelief, glaring at my brother with her crazy eyes.

For a fleeting second, I felt sorry for Stefan since he wasn't used to Care being overdramatic yet, but then that moment passed quickly when I remembered that he had feelings for my girl. He deserved a death sentence for that one, so I leaned back against my dresser and watched Blondie giving him the evil eye. At least my unsuspecting brother took the heat off me, and I wanted to enjoy that brief moment of peace as I processed what Care said before, about Elena being disappointed in me for my alcoholic relapse.

"Umm, yeah, aren't you guys dating and getting serious? I mean, that was why my brother planned the party here last night, wasn't it? Because he wanted me to meet you? At least, that's what I assumed when I talked to Elena during the dance," Stefan seemed uncertain now, his gaze shifting back and forth from me to the angry blonde.

Wow, so it was _his_ miscalculation that resulted in that whole mess of a case of mistaken identity at the kitchen yesterday. It certainly explained why Elena thought that I loved her best friend and why baby bro didn't connect with Care as I had hoped.

"Oh my God, I can't handle this right now," Caroline announced, shaking her head in exasperation. She looked as if she was about to lose it…well, _more_ than she already did, obviously. "I can't handle one mentally unstable best friend and two idiotic _brothers_ on Christmas day! I mean, I've earned my day off from working so hard to plan the party and everything. I could use some retail therapy right now but the damned shops aren't even open today," she muttered to herself as she ran her fingers through her hair, looking as if she was about to pull them out by the roots.

Fortunately for my brother, I could sense that he was about to escape unscathed from the wrath of Care Bear, but I couldn't help but be a little disappointed. I was hoping that he would lose an eye or had his perfectly coiffed hair shaved off even. What does a guy have to do to catch a break around here, huh?

"Umm, sorry if I made things awkward between you two, but…ahh, carry on," Stef mumbled hesitantly, avoiding Blondie's eyes as he made to leave before abruptly turning back to face us again, only this time, he had a beaming smile on his face. "Hey, Damon, you disappeared last night before I could get Elena's number. Do you think you could give it to me now?"

God, I wanted to attach each and every tooth he was flashing at me to my car's bumper and speed all the way over to the grocery store to purchase some eggs that I neither needed nor knew how to cook!

I checked my impulse to do something out of character and instead gritted my teeth as I told him, "I don't think it's appropriate, little bro, since she already has a boyfriend. Sorry, man." There, a good and legitimate reason as for why I couldn't just give him what he wanted. I didn't even need to come up with a lie.

His face fell when he heard the word 'boyfriend' and I immediately felt guilty for bursting his bubble so harshly. This was the very first time that I had seen him connect with someone so quickly and he seemed genuinely interested in Elena. Plus, it _was_ rather counter-intuitive for me to deny him even a hint of happiness, even if it was at the expense of my own. I was about to cave until he spoke again.

"Oh, but I guess it's not such a surprise that she's seeing someone. I mean, from our conversations last night, I know that she's a great person and surely I'm not the first guy to realize that," he commented with disappointment in his voice, and I found myself nodding along to his statement. Then to my dismay, he brightened up and said hopefully, "But it doesn't mean that I can't get to know her, right? We could always hang out and talk as friends."

Pushy kinda guy, wasn't he?

Sighing in exasperation, all I wanted to do was to end this depressing conversation and kick both Stef and Blondie out of my room, and then bury my head into my pillows for a whole month. Sadly, I didn't have such a luxury. "I'll have to ask Elena's permission first, you understand? If she allows it, then I'll let you know," I informed him glumly, making it clear that this discussion was over and done with for now. He nodded and smiled again before he held both hands up and slowly backed away from my door, humming a little as he went.

"Wait, did I miss something? He seems uncharacteristically chirpy today, and what was that with wanting Elena's number? And why were you talking with your teeth clenched?" Blondie asked with her particularly observant gaze on me.

I tried to make my voice as casual as possible as I filled in the blanks. "My brother's interested in Elena, of all people, and he wants to ask her out," I explained as her eyes widened in surprise. "Maybe it's just as well that she went back to Jerkwood. That way, neither one of us gets her."

I shook my head sadly and threw my clean change of clothes back into a drawer, intending to climb back into my bed and lose myself in another bottle of my father's collection of Bourbon but I should have known that my plans for the day would be foiled by one stubborn blonde.

"Oh no you don't!" she burst out, determination etched on her expression as she grabbed me and forced me to listen to her. "Will you stop with the doom and gloom? Stefan is an idiot! We've already established that fact when he thought that you and _I_ were hooking up. I should probably go talk to him about a possible change in career path because I don't think there's any vacancy for a dense lawyer in his future. So whatever he thinks he feels for Elena is immaterial, because he's only known her for a day. _One_ day! But you…_you_ are her rock, Damon. You are the one who can make her smile even when her whole world is collapsing at her feet, and I've never seen her as happy as when she's with you. I don't know what's going through her head right now to make her go back to Mason, but I _know_ that she feels something for you. She's just confused, but that's _your_ fault, you and your stupid L-word."

One would think that women liked to hear how much they are loved by people around her, but Blondie seemed to have an extreme aversion to my fondness of her, judging by the evil glare she was targeting at me.

"I'm sorry I said that. You're very annoying and the sight of you makes my skin crawl. The thought of us being anything more than mortal enemies makes me want to lock myself in a cage filled with poisonous snakes and giant spiders trying to get into my pants. When I look at you, I want to gouge my eyeballs out and cook them with acid before I stuff them into my eye sockets again. Better?" I rambled emotionlessly in a pathetic attempt to right the wrong I made the previous night.

"Much better, but you need to work on your delivery. Just keep that in mind when you're telling Elena how much you detest me. Now go shower and wash that alcohol smell off and we are going over there to get her back. You and me, we're going to tag team her and explain everything. No more misunderstandings, you hear me? Go," she pushed me firmly towards my bathroom and left my room, muttering about brainless Salvatores and how we were ruining a perfectly merry Christmas for her.

* * *

**_Elena's POV_**

_(Christmas eve – after leaving the party)_

I sat on the passenger seat of Mason's truck, staring at the side mirror and watching Caroline's reflection slowly fade into a tiny speck as we drove off, leaving her standing alone in front of her house. Shame and guilt washed over me at the thought of her heedless pleas, practically begging me to stay after she walked up to her front door as I swung it open to leave with every single thing I owned packed in a bag that Mason was carrying.

Her eyes widened in shock as she saw me, then her eyes strayed to the silent man behind me before they finally slid down to the bag. Then her gaze snapped back up to mine in horror.

She didn't understand. No one did. There was nothing I could say that could make them see why I had to leave, why I chose to walk down this familiar path again. It wasn't because of the proposal, or the fact that my heart had been broken into pieces at the party. Hell, I was even genuinely happy for my best friend that she managed to catch the attention of the kindest man I have ever met, aside from my father.

Indeed, I felt nothing but joy for her, and I demonstrated it by pinning a wide grin on my face to placate Caroline as I wished her a Merry Christmas and leaned in to hug her goodbye, proving that I was perfectly fine with my decision to move back to Mason's house. She kept saying "No" repeatedly, as if her denial was going to change my mind, but all I did was rub her back in a comforting gesture, shaking my head. "It's going to be okay, Care. Mason and I made up, but this won't be like the last time, I promise. I'll still see you and hang out with you guys…I'm just going home where I belong. It's different this time, you'll see."

"Yes, Caroline, I'll take good care of her," Mason spoke up softly, catching both of us off guard by his willingness to address my best friend directly. Perhaps he really meant it when he said that he'd changed. The old Mason would have merely glared at Care or completely ignored her as he strutted over to the car and tootled his horn impatiently as we said our goodbyes. "Thanks for letting her stay here while we…figured our shit out. I owe you one," he said amicably, and I watched, amused when Care's jaw dropped and being rendered speechless for the first time in her life.

"I'll see you again real soon, okay? I'll call you," I promised and waved as I hurried over to the car, not giving her time to react. I expected her to put up a fight, maybe even call for reinforcements from the Salvatore mansion, so it was time that I hightailed out of there.

My heart weighed heavier as the distance increased between the house that was my safe haven and the moving truck. It was funny because I really thought that it would be a huge relief now that I had made my decision, and being back together with Mason was what I had planned when I left him. But now that it was really happening, I couldn't help but feel….empty.

"Hey, babe," Mason's voice interrupted my thoughts. "I can't tell you how relieved I am that you called me earlier. So I'm guessing that your answer's a 'yes', then?"

I froze when his hand reached over to cover mine on my lap, and my mind took me back to the car ride that took place right after I got discharged from the hospital, remembering my involuntary reaction to the touch of his skin; every nerve in my body wanted to fling his hand away and it was the exact same thing right now, too. Unlike the previous time, however, he left his hand where it was, his fingers lacing with mine as his thumb stroked my knuckles gently. For a moment, I wanted to throw the door open and fling myself out of a moving vehicle, action movie style.

"Listen," I said hesitantly, still eyeing the door handle. "I'm here now because I wanted to help you change back to the man you once were, before everything happened that messed us up. I'm willing to try and be there for you, as you once were there for me because I believe in you. But I _do_ expect you to live up to your promise to me that you'll stop drinking and go to your anger management classes and we'll go have our counseling sessions to work out everything that needs to be worked on. As for the other stuff….well, I'd rather just give it some time before we decide anything too hasty."

An awkward silence filled the confined space of the car following my statements, and I waited nervously for a response. I half expected him to throw a tantrum again but I was caught by surprise when he released a defeated sigh and squeezed my fingers.

"So, it's a 'No' then? Even if I promise to do all those things?"

Seriously, that's _all_ that he got from my response? "For now, it's a 'We'll see' until the timing is right. There's still so much that we need to sort out in our relationship, so maybe we'll put the whole idea of marriage on hold first, okay? In the mean time, why don't you keep the ring first?" I asked as I fished into my pocket to remove the diamond ring that felt increasingly heavy by the second. I held it out to him, effectively dislodging my hand from his clasp when he lifted his right hand to close around it.

The instant he took the ring from my fingers, I immediately felt a load of weight being lifted off my shoulders and a huge wave of relief flooded through me. I know that I probably shouldn't feel that way but I couldn't help myself. I supposed that should have been a warning sign for me to get the hell out of dodge, but I was convinced that Mason needed my help to be a better man. And no matter what I felt for…anyone else, I still loved him and I owed it to our relationship to try again. After all, being with him felt familiar to me, and there was a time when I really thought that this was it; he was the love of my life, my one true love. If I had to, I'd be patient and dig deep to find the man he once was. I am by no means, a quitter.

"This ring symbolizes my commitment to you and that I will keep my promises and I just want you to know that I _really_ want to marry you, Elena. I've never been more serious about anything in my life, but I guess I can understand your hesitation right now. I'll have to earn back your trust again and when I do, I fully expect to see this ring on your finger. Until then, we'll just treat it as a promise ring," he conceded, pocketing it before he replaced his hand on the steering wheel.

I supposed that his speech was everything I ever wanted to hear for so long, and it _should_ make my heart flutter madly that he was uttering it now, but somehow, I couldn't help but imagine the same words coming from another man, one who had slightly wavy raven locks, piercing blue eyes, a lopsided smile and who looked breathtaking in all-black attire.

* * *

After some time apart, it wasn't surprising that Mason expected for us to work on our relationship – sexually – that same night, but I managed to convince him to wait up in bed for me while I unpacked and cleared up the mess in the house that seemed to have accumulated since I left. I deliberately took my own sweet time, making sure that I scrubbed every inch of the surfaces of every piece of furniture at least twice.

By the time the house was spotless again, it was already nearing to three a.m. so I carefully made my way upstairs and climbed into bed next to a snoring Mason. I turned onto my side, my tensed back facing the still figure beside me as I listened to his even breathing. I didn't fall asleep until it was almost dawn and by then, half of my body was already numb from the lack of movement.

My eyes flew open a few short hours later, my ears perking up at the sound of a ringing doorbell. For a moment there, I laid frozen on the bed which felt different, confused as my eyes slid all over my surroundings until it finally sunk in that I was no longer at the Forbes' residence. Then the doorbell chimed again, and only then did I realize that the shower was running.

Mason was in the bathroom.

A sudden feeling of dread came over me, so I hastily jumped out of the bed and rubbed the sleep from my eyes as I pulled on a robe. I hurried down the stairs just as the bell chimed once more and then I was faced by the two people I wanted to see the most but yet didn't at the same time. I had a very complicated relationship with the both of them, for very different reasons, obviously. I sure as hell wasn't ready to see them standing side-by-side, looking chummy, gorgeous and made for each other on a Christmas morning.

A part of me wanted to slam the door shut in their faces and go back to bed where I could escape from reality for a few more hours.

"Umm, hey. Merry Christmas," I greeted, clasping a hand over my mouth to avoid my morning breathe from wafting over to them.

"What's wrong with your mouth, Elena? Did he hit you again? Let me see," Caroline instructed as she grabbed my raised arm and dragged it away from my face, revealing nothing amiss but perhaps a very pale face. I stubbornly kept my eye on her rather than the dark-haired man beside her.

"No, Mason didn't hurt me, Care," I sighed wearily, tired of having to constantly defend him to everyone else. Why couldn't they just simply accept that I had made my choice and left it at that? "I literally _just_ got up from bed okay? I didn't even have a chance to brush my teeth yet."

My confession seemed to have stumped both of them for the moment, since they were probably expecting the worst to happen in the nine and a half hours since I left the mansion. I should be grateful that they were worried enough to come and check up on me, but I really didn't want this to go on this way. Should I expect them to turn up every day at random hours for as long as I remained by Mason's side?

My best friend frowned a little and then proceeded to not-so-discreetly pinch her nose shut. "Well? Where _is_ that monster? Is he upstairs, trashing the bedroom again for goodness knows what reason? Like maybe finding another toy he _hasn't_ yet beheaded?" she asked, raising a challenging brow at the unsubtle reminder of what happened to my stuffed bear. My heart ached a little as I thought back to the fate of Mr. Cuddles, the poor unfortunate toy that suffered a premature death at the hands of my boyfriend.

Sensing that she was gearing up for a fight with the 'monster' if he should so happen to come downstairs at that moment, I reluctantly stepped outside and closed the front door behind me, hoping that Caroline's voice wouldn't be heard through the timber veneer. So far, the man beside her hadn't spoken a word since their arrival, for which I was thankful for. I was trying so hard not to look at him at all, which was so difficult because I swear my eyes had a mind of their own.

"Look, Caroline, I told you last night that things are different now with -"

"Damon-and-I-are-not-dating-nor-are-we-in-love," she blurted out unexpectedly, speaking so rapidly that it was hard to understand her. "Tell her, Damon!" she commanded sharply, nudging the silent man beside her with a painful elbowing at his ribs.

"Owww," he winced, turning a sideways glare at the blonde before returning his gaze to me. I had no choice but to look at him then, and regretted it almost instantly when all the feelings I felt during the party rushed back at me, threatening to drown me in a mixture of heartache and some other indecipherable emotion that was stronger than affection. Much, much stronger.

He seemed different this morning, somehow, as if he had a rough night as well. And for the first time since I have known him, he wasn't completely clean cut like he usually was. His jaw and chin were covered with short facial hair and his dark mane was messy, as if he had spent the past few hours running his fingers through them anxiously. Funny, he didn't seem like he was having a wonderful time with Caroline so far on this supposed magical day.

"Tell. Her," the blonde seethed through her gritted teeth, shooting him a pointed look. "Or _I_ will."

He sighed in resignation and then took a deep breath while mentally preparing to announce the big news. Suddenly, I didn't want to know. I mean, what if he was about to announce that they were moving in together? Or that she had legally adopted Pig as a stepdog?

"I don't have feelings for Caroline," he announced softly, catching me completely offguard. "I mean, she's my friend so of course I feel _something_ for all my friends. I'd be lying if I said that I didn't, but it's not exactly what you - that is, you misunderstood what I said last night when you heard – I didn't mean it like-"

"Oh my God, I swear you Salvatore boys will be the death of me!" Caroline burst out in frustration, her blue-green eyes shooting daggers out at him. "Can't any of you do anything right for once? Can't believe my Mom was right; if you want to do something right, you have to do it yourself. I should be getting _paid_ for this, you know? I might even consider a career in counseling or maybe psychology after this!"

Then she turned her attention on me, and I was actually scared of the sheer determination I saw on her. "Okay, Elena, we're here to set the record straight once and for all. Damon and I are nothing but friends who only _barely_ tolerate each other because of our one common interest; you. We both care about you and your well-being, and that's the only thing stopping us from gouging each others' eyes out just so that we won't have to look at one another again. I can't even believe that you ever thought that he has feelings for me, because _trust_ me on this, the only way he and I would ever be remotely interested in each other would be if we're the only two survivors left from the Apocalypse and there were no goats or if it was up to us to repopulate the Earth to fight against aliens and predators."

I fought an urge to laugh at the vivid image she'd painted despite my bewilderment at her proclamation. It didn't help that Damon had alternated between nodding his agreement and cringing with disgust while she had prattled on. This was turning into a very interesting morning, to say the least.

"Besides," she went on after taking a much needed breath, "I have a policy against dating a man who's better-looking than me, and anyone with a pair of eyes can see that _he's_ the hottie in a relationship. Both my ego and my vanity cannot accept that in a million years because I'd get fat from all the stress-eating I would be doing. Do you see now how _any_ kind of romantic relationship is basically impossible between us? In case you're still confused over the status of our friendship, it is a 'never' between us. If you want more proof, I'll post it on my Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Skype accounts later. But just to recap….Damon and me in a relationship? Bleurghhhh!" she said, her face twisted into a look of utter revulsion as she raised a hand to push his left cheek away at the last word as if she couldn't bear to look at him any further.

My first impulse was to leap to his defense, my lips parting to start a tirade of my own to fight on his behalf, to convince her that Damon had much more going on than just his looks. He was a selfless man, one who wouldn't hesitate to fight for the underdog, a great brother, son, and friend. He was a gentleman, a kind soul, funny and sweet and above all else, unflinchingly loyal. Any woman would be lucky to have him as a partner.

I was about to say all that but then the front door opened, revealing Mason who seemed surprised to find me standing in my pjs and robe with two of my friends, both of whom were trying to convince me that they were nothing more than reluctant friends, if that. Maybe Caroline sold me on the idea of _her_ feelings, or lack thereof for him, but she was wrong about Damon's. I heard him say that he loved her and could even envision her to be a Salvatore one day. That sure didn't sound as if he would rather mate with a goat than her.

"Hey, what's going on? Why are you all standing outside? You guys can come in if you want," Mason offered generously. The gesture was all surprising, especially knowing how he really felt about them both. It was further proof that he was really a changed man.

Unfortunately, I was the only one convinced of that fact. "I'd rather not. We all know that any person who goes in risks coming back out either half-dead or with bruises all over and I happen to _like_ my fair and unblemished skin, thank you very much," Caroline replied sarcastically, making me groan inwardly at her unfiltered and in-your-face attitude. It was as if she _wanted_ to rile him up on purpose.

"Alright, that's a 'no thanks' then? Fine," Mason shrugged, shaking his head at me. Seriously? That was it? He didn't get all ape-shit and bad-tempered at her jibe? It truly _was_ a magical Christmas morning!

"Elena," he continued, choosing to ignore Care's judgy eyes and Damon's narrowed ones. He couldn't seem to be able to figure Mason out either. "Do you remember where I put the engagement ring? I can't seem to find it this morning."

And just like that, my two friends were on the offense again.

"You have _got_ to be kidding me!" Damon hissed, his eyes narrowing to slits. He looked majorly upset, murderous even as he regarded first Mason, then me.

"Elena, please tell me you're not _actually_ thinking of marrying him! Oh my God, the Mayans _were_ right about the Apocalypse," my best friend muttered, looking confused and at a loss at what to do.

Shit. Damage control, stat.

"Umm…I think it's still in your jeans from last night. You put it in your right pocket, remember?" I hastily deflected, not wanting Mason to be around for the coming explosion."Why don't you go upstairs and look for it? I'll be in shortly."

I nodded encouragingly at him and saw him hesitate for a moment, and then he leaned in to press a kiss on my lips before turning towards Damon with a smug grin and disappeared back behind the door. I couldn't be sure, but it almost seemed as if he mentioned the ring on purpose. But why would he do that? I thought I made it clear for him last night that there would be no talk of marriage and wedding until we've repaired our relationship.

"So that's it then? He proposed and now you're back together with him?" Damon asked tonelessly, his face devoid of any emotion.

"Well yes, he _did_ and I _am_, but it's not exactly that simple, Dam-"

I could see the change in him before I even finished my sentence, the way his jaw tightened and his entire body went rigid as if he was holding on by a thread. "Forget it, I don't want to hear anymore. You made your choice, so it's _your_ funeral, Elena," he snapped, and I withdrew from the icy glare he pinned me with. Snapping his head over to my shocked best friend, he bit out, "I can't do this anymore, Care. I just can't."

With that, he threw his hands up and stalked away, as if he couldn't bear being near me for even another second. I watched his retreating back making his way to his car, slamming the door shut while he revved his engine loudly. Then he peeled out of the driveway as if he was being chased by ghosts, never once sparing another glance at me.

I could feel the tears stinging my eyes, and then the shape of the Camaro become a blurry sight when they started to cascade down my cheeks.

"I can't believe I'm going to say this to you, Elena, but you're being incredibly stupid right now," my remaining friend told me with shaky voice. "In fact, you've been stupid with everything in regards to Mason. Why can't you see that the man you belong with is _not_ the guy who's been using you as a punching bag, but the man who just got all his hopes and dreams shattered right here on your doorstep? You just broke Damon's heart, Elena, and I'm sorry if I'm being rather harsh with you, but I don't know how else to make you realize what a fool you've been."

Wiping my watery eyes as I shifted to face the blonde, I stared at her in confusion. "What are you talking about, Care? What hopes and dreams? I'm just a case to Damon, right? He's probably just upset because I didn't need him to rescue me."

"God, are you really as blind as you seem to be right now? Damon _doesn't_ see you as a case. He is in love with you!" she yelled, her chest heaving as she panted for breath. My entire body went into shock mode at that moment, my mind unable to process what she just divulged. "That boy is so helplessly in love with you that he planned the whole Christmas party _for_ you, because it would make you happy. He wanted to dance with you last night but his idiot of a brother beat him to it. When I called and told him that you'd gone back to Mason, he did the one thing he swore he'd never do since his mother's death; he started drinking again, Elena. And now that he thinks that you're marrying Mason…." she trailed off, leaving me to panic at the possible endings to that unfinished sentence.

"I'm really worried about him now. I'm sorry but I need to go see if he's alright. I can only handle one distressed friend at a time, and right now, he seems to be the one who's on the verge of spiraling out of control. If we don't nip this drinking thing in the bud, then I don't know what's going to happen to him," she lamented, flashing me a torn look between staying by my side so that she could continue to talk some sense into me, or being there for the guy whom I'd possibly ruined beyond recognition.

"Go, Care. I'll be fine here. Please find him and tell him….tell him to call me. I need to explain about Mason," I told her. My mind was still in a mess, filled with unprocessed thoughts and everything she just told me, but one thing stood out from the rest; Damon loved _me_.

"Okay, but try not to die before I get back here to kick your ass," she ordered, shooting me a warning look as she ran over to her own car.

I stood in a daze on the doorstep, watching the backlights of her car slowly disappear into the distance and I prayed and hoped that she'd find him before he allowed the alcohol to consume him. I didn't realize that I was still crying until I tasted my own salty tears on my lips. Brushing my face with the back of my hand, I slowly reentered the house, only to be blocked by Mason who was standing motionless just inside the door, his face an angry red color as he stood there glowering at me accusingly.

Oh, crap.

* * *

**My twitter: cgsa_cher **

**Please go check out my beta Kristi's (tukct81) fic, 'Great Expectations', a canon story that picks up from Ms. Mystic Falls (4x07) Squeal! And my friend Sana's (Don't Tear Me Down) 'Chasing Fire'. Go go go! **


	13. Chapter 13

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: WARNING. GRAPHIC SCENE. Do not read if you are…..what the hell? Read it anyway. Life is not worth living if you don't take risks.**

**This was an extremely hard chapter to write. I didn't enjoy a second of it. It's definitely not for the faint-hearted, so be warned. In case you're wondering, I am a mentally sound person and no, I do not condone this kind of behavior. Prepare to be disgusted. **

**Oh, I know you haven't gotten a reply to your review yet for Chapter 12, but I was so nervous for this chapter that I focused on writing instead. I'll make sure to reply each and every one of you (except for those who didn't log in or the guest reviewers, because I can't, obviously!). I promise. And thanks once again. I really love all of you. Will you please love me back?**

* * *

**A Woman's Worth: Chapter THIRTEEN**

_Elena's POV_

I gulped nervously as I saw the familiar expression of anger on Mason's face. It was obvious that he'd overheard what Caroline said earlier about Damon. A part of me wanted to turn tail and run out the door and chase after Care's car, but then I also remembered why I came back to this house in the first place; I wanted to offer Mason some support and hope, and convince him that he shouldn't have to live like this, in a perpetual state of anger. I wanted to help him and be there for him like how my friends were there for me when I needed them.

But now, it was as if I didn't know _how_ to be around him anymore. The old me would have rushed over and comforted him, promising that he would never lose me to anyone else, but somehow along the way, whether it was by Damon and Care's influence or not, I found myself unwilling to make promises I didn't know if I could keep…didn't know if I _wanted_ to keep.

"Mason, I-" I paused, not knowing what to say. What _do_ you say to someone - a boyfriend - after your best friend declares that another guy you happen to care about deeply has feelings for you? Nothing, that's what.

"That Salvatore guy sure gets around, huh?" Mason bit out angrily. "First he steals Tyler's girl and now he wants _mine_, too?"

Shaking my head defensively, I took a tentative step towards him as if he was a skittish wild animal about to pounce on me and maul my face off. The last thing either of us needed now was for him to lose control of his temper over this. This wasn't how I imagined our reunion would be like, and on Christmas day on top of that!

"Damon never stole Caroline from Tyler, Mase. She broke up with Ty because he…well, he hit her after a slight misunderstanding. She's just not one to put up with a guy who thinks that it's okay to slap her around, no matter _what_ the cause," I said quietly, not even thinking about what he might think about my defense for my best friend. I was still reeling from the bomb she dropped on me earlier about Damon.

"So is _that_ what you're doing here, putting up with _me_? You're only back with me because you have nowhere else to go, right? Is that why you haven't agreed to marry me? Tell me the truth, Elena!"

I shrank back as he moved closer, his frame towering over me as I cowered under his heated gaze. It was such a déjà vu moment, too, my mind instantly transporting me back to the time months ago when we were in the same location of the house, the time when he had shoved me towards the console table that later resulted in me being hospitalized.

I immediately tensed up, my heart threatening to beat a hole out of my ribcage as it thudded a mile a minute. Bracing myself for a possibility of another violent outburst from him, I placed both my palms flat on his chest in an attempt to calm him down. _I've got this_, I thought. I was no longer the clueless weakling who walked around with my head buried in the ground. I knew what I was doing when I made the decision to come back, and for the first time, I had faith that Mason was a changed man. At least, that was what I kept telling myself.

"No, Mase, listen to me," I implored, refusing to let my rising fear overwhelm me. "This quick temper, the harsh words, the uncontrollable violent outburts…that's not who you are. I'll admit that it has been complicated these past few months, but you need to understand that I'm here because I _want_ to be, because _I_ know that deep down, you're still the same sweet and caring man I fell in love with. I'm not saying yes to your proposal because _we're_ not ready, not because of anything else. I'm _choosing_ to be here, Mason, so even if you don't believe anything else, believe _that_."

All I could hear besides the loud drumming in my chest was the sound of the clock ticking away in the background, the seconds dragging by as he stared down at me, his chest heaving. We were practically nose-to-nose now, his light blue eyes intent on mine, and I waited, praying silently that my faith in him would not come back and bite me in the ass.

A moment later he withdrew, slowly, warily. I released the breath I didn't even realized I was holding, relaxing slightly when I could see the angry haze in his eyes diminishing, until he was once again the Mason that I knew.

One crisis averted. For now.

"So I shouldn't be worried about him?" he asked softly, assuming correctly that I'd immediately know who he was referring to. No, he shouldn't be worried about Damon, but _I_ did. The way he left earlier as if he couldn't wait to get me out of his sight, I knew that I had lost him for good. He looked so hurt, so disappointed, so angry. I hadn't even _begun_ to think about him being supposedly in love with me, although my heart soared a little at the thought of it being a possibility.

_No, Elena. You can't think that way. You can't let yourself have hope when you've made your choice about staying with Mason. The future of your relationship with Mason is unclear now, but he needs you right now. He has no one else who could possibly understand. You're the only one who can save him from himself. _

My internal pep talk gave me the determination to do what needed to be done, even if every single cell of my body was trying to convince me to do otherwise, to run in the other direction. I steeled my resolve and looked at Mason square in the eyes. "There's nothing to worry about. It's not like that between us," I assured him.

Saying that out loud, I knew that if there was ever any hope for my relationship with Damon being more than just friendship, it was gone now. I had single-handedly destroyed the best opportunity of that happening. A painful twinge gripped my heart and I fought against the tears that were threatening to betray my confident façade.

Luckily, I must have been a master of disguising my inner turmoil because Mason seemed to believe me. He nodded, and then lifted a hand to cup my cheek before stepping forward to press his lips against my closed ones. I froze because I didn't expect it and at the same time, didn't welcome it.

"Mmm, morning breath," he mumbled when he lifted his head a moment later, and I had never been more grateful for being unhygienic in my life. Perhaps I should stop showering altogether to avoid any further physical contact between us. "Why don't you go freshen up and get ready? I'll take you out for a Christmas brunch," he suggested.

Well, so much for my brilliant plan to be icky and disgusting.

On second thought, I _did_ need a moment to myself, seeing as I was worried sick about Damon and Caroline's disturbing announcement that he had resorted to drinking again after my disappearing act last night. The thought that _I_ would be the one to cause him to fall off the wagon never crossed my mind, and now that it was happening, I couldn't hold back the wave of guilt that washed over me. I needed to check on him.

Flashing Mason a distracted smile, I hurried upstairs to our room, quickly stripping down to my pajama shorts and bra. I grabbed a change of clothes from the wardrobe and entered the attached bathroom, turning the knobs on the wall in the shower stall and let the water run. I hoped that the sound would cover my voice when I made the call to check on Damon.

Locating my phone on the nightstand, I scrolled down my list of received calls from the past few days and found his number. I waited nervously as I stood by the window, gazing out onto the quiet road, half-expecting to see a familiar Camaro parked at its usual spot underneath a shady tree when he and Care had been not-so-stealthily spying on me when I was on a self-imposed house arrest. I didn't even care that I was semi-naked and the whole neighborhood could check out my goodies through the window.

He didn't pick up. I let the phone ring until it was diverted to his voice mail, and then I tried again. And again. He was ignoring me.

I had no idea how much it would hurt until that moment when I realized that he would probably never want to see or hear from me again. I thought back to last night at the party, wondering if things would turn out differently if Stefan hadn't cut in and asked me to dance first. If I had danced with Damon instead, would I still be _here_, in this house, trying very hard not to let myself regret my decision? Would I have chosen differently if I knew how he really felt _then_?

I had no answers. Not for my rhetorical questions and not from the man in question over the phone, seeing as he failed to pick up the call again. Once again, I heard the sound of the pre-recorded voice asking me to leave a message followed by a loud beep. I decided to try and salvage whatever I could of our friendship, even if we were to end up merely saying hello and goodbye as we passed each other on the street. Mystic Falls wasn't a very big town after all.

"Damon," I said in a hesitant voice. And then once again grew tongue-tied. I couldn't just blurt out, "I know how you feel and I feel the same way, but it can't ever happen between us because I have to save my boyfriend from becoming The Hulk". I shook my head to clear it and tried to use my instincts to guide me.

"Damon, I know that I'm probably the last person you want to talk to right now, and I understand why you're angry at me, but I need to talk you, to explain," I said, feeling slightly more confident now. "I'm sorry. I know you probably think I'm the biggest idiot for getting back together with Mason, but I'm just trying to be there for him the way you and Care have been there for me. I don't want you to worry about me, not if it's driving you to drink again. Please, Damon, if you don't want _me_ to worry about you, please don't try to drown yourself in the bottle again. Remember what happened the last time you indulged? And the regret you felt afterwards? I don't want you to have to live with that feeling again."

Taking a deep breath, I struggled to hold my emotions in check, remembering our talk at the cemetery as we sat down next to his mother's grave. I recalled the pain in his voice and his expression as he recounted the story of how he found his little brother kneeling beside their mother's body, and his vow to not let himself succumb to the alcohol's influence again, but yet here he was, making the wrong choice all over again. I had to try harder.

"I-I care about you, Damon, and knowing that it's all my fault, I –"

Suddenly, my phone was snatched out of my hands painfully, and then with a bellow of rage, Mason threw it against a wall and I could only watch, helpless and horrified, as it bounced off and fell to the floor, broken. To say that I was shocked was an understatement. I didn't even realize that he was screaming at me until I found myself being hauled against him, his grips tightening around my wrists.

"…lying bitch! I knew it! I knew that there was something going on between you and that Salvatore guy the moment you became friends with him at the hospital," he yelled angrily, his spit spraying all over my face. "I had a feeling about him and I was right. If you're so in love with each other, then what the hell are you doing here?"

I struggled against his firm grip, feeling the panic I had suppressed earlier in the foyer rising swiftly. "Mason, please let go of me," I pleaded, but he was too far gone to heed me.

"Do you take me for a fool? You need something from me, don't you? What is it? Is it money? Wasn't it enough that I let you stay here and give you an education and supported you all these years? All because I felt guilty and I wanted to do right by you, but now you want more? Or maybe you want _both_ of us, is that it?"

"No," I whimpered, shaking my head at his insinuations. Why couldn't he see that he was hurting me? Why did he always have to assume the worst of me? "Mason, it's not like that between us at all-"

"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" he roared, and then my head snapped to the side, my left cheek exploding in pain at the unanticipated slap. I was still struggling to make sense of what happened when I found myself pinned down on the floor under him.

As if by some automatic response to his attack, my mind chose that moment to recall that moment at the hospital grounds when Damon was showing me how to fight off an attack by someone far superior in size than me. I twisted my body to the side, causing him to lose his balance and slide to the floor right beside me while I focused on getting my right hand free to deliver the punch right to his solar plexus like how I practiced with Damon. I leaned back slightly and my fist flew out to connect to his hard chest, the impact sending shockwaves from my knuckles up through my arm, and I could have sworn I heard something crack.

It didn't work.

Whether it was because of my position on the floor that resulted in a lack of power in my punch or because Mason was actually a cyborg and had a steel chest plate, my self-defense attempt failed miserably except to make him even angrier than he already was.

Rolling on top of me once more, he let out a low growl and pinned both my arms on the floor, laying them out beside my head. "You wanna play rough, huh? I can play rough, but the question is, can you handle it?" he asked, his voice dripping with menace and then one of his hands reached down and roughly pulled my bra down from my chest. I looked down in horror when I heard the sound of tearing to find him holding my frayed bra, then tossing it behind him.

I experience a moment of shock when he leaned down and placed his mouth on one peak, my blood running cold at the thought of this new form of abuse. I was expecting something like what happened the last time; some slapping around, pushing and shoving me against walls, fingers leaving bruises against my skin, but nothing had prepared me for the knowledge of what he was about to do to me.

"No, please don't," I cried out, my tears flowing down the sides of my face and into my hair. My denial caused him to bite down hard on one nipple, and I screamed out in pain as I redoubled my attempts to escape. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," I choked out without thinking, my body quivering with fear and disbelief. I couldn't imagine that the man on top of me would be capable of such a horrible action, but then again, I had been wrong before.

"How long have you two been going around behind my back, huh? Since you were discharged from the hospital? Did you cheat on me with him since then? Did you two have your little affair while I was at work? How many times has he been here, in _my_ house and on my bed, discovering what a slut you really are?" Mason pressed his lower body against me after every question, making me cry out in a panic as I felt his growing arousal. How could he get excited from hurting me like this? "Did he make you cum? Or maybe not since you can be such a frigid bitch at times."

And with that punishing statement, he lowered his hand and ripped the joint seam at the crotch area of my shorts, creating a hole big enough for his fingers to explore the unprotected skin beneath. That was when I realized with sudden clarity that he was about to force himself on me. I had to bite down on my tongue to avoid getting sick right then and there.

Renewing my struggles, I tried to reach inside his mind, to appeal to the humanity I hoped still remained in there because I no longer recognized the face of the animal on top of me. His features were hardened, bitter and full of rage; there was no trace of the old Mason left. "Please, Mason, don't do this. Please! I came back because I care about you. I didn't cheat on you, I promise. Why won't you believe me?" My last plea was torn from my chest the moment his fingers probed around my lower lips, seeking for entrance. My body wasn't prepared for this, and neither was my mind.

"You want me to believe you? Fine, then tell me you love me," he challenged, his body moving upwards until he was on his knees on top of my chest, the weight of his body crushing against my lungs. The new position freed up my legs and so I wasted no time in kicking out in all directions but soon, I found myself tiring out as I fought to draw a breath in. My lids were getting heavy and my vision was getting hazy as I laid there, defenseless and helpless. I prayed for some kind of divine intervention, perhaps in the form of my previous saviors, but I knew that it was hopeless. They were gone.

As I began to drift in and out of semi-consciousness, I caught glimpses of Mason undoing the top button and zipper of his pants and I knew that the thing I dreaded most was coming. I felt him grab my left hand, and then a sharp sting on my fourth finger as I caught the words "marry" and "love" being uttered by him.

Just as I was about to pass out for real, the pressure on my chest eased, resulting in me gulping for breaths. "Say it! Say you love me, Elena. You wanted to prove that you don't care about anyone else but me, well this is your chance. Say you love me!" he yelled into my ear and then proceeded to bury his head in the crook of my neck, where I could feel a sharp twinge of pain. He repeated his request, even as he got into position between my lifeless legs.

My back arched sharply the moment he entered me in one swift motion, the pain too excruciating to describe, my mouth falling open in a soundless scream. Two teardrops flowed out of the corners of my eyes but there was nothing I could do but to take his brutal thrusting, uncaring that I was dry and that my body was rejecting every single movement. It felt as if he was tearing me apart from the inside out.

"God-dammit, Elena, say it!"

At that moment, I _hated_ him for using me, for breaking me, for taking away every single hope I had left in the world. I wanted to die.

"I…love…_him_," I managed to croak out tonelessly, shutting off my emotions as they slowly vanished into nothingness. There wasn't any point to lying anymore. The truth was simpler. It didn't require thinking, or processing. I was merely an empty vessel now, a ragdoll for him to play with as he saw fit. My body grew limp and I stared emptily up at the ceiling.

My final confession angered him further, as proven when he roared out in a rage and flipped me around so that I was lying faced down and then my torn shorts was gone as well. I didn't put up any fight at all when he pushed and held my head down on the rough carpet and took me brutally again and again. My whole body shook violently as he pummeled deeply into me, as if I was nothing but a blown-up sex toy, existing only for his pleasure. I registered the sensation of a carpet burn on the left side of my face but other than that, I felt nothing. I had stopped crying a while ago, and there was barely any sound at all in the room except for Mason's grunting and the sound of skin slapping on skin.

"….sad whore….slut….unwanted….a burden…." Those were the only words that leapt out at me during his angry tirade as he strived to complete his moment of bliss. I heard them, but they didn't hold any meaning to me now. My mind refused to work except for a single image that I had conjured up in my head and kept my focus on; Damon smiling at me the day we visited the cemetery.

I envisioned the day clearly, the color of the sky, the gentle breeze blowing through my hair, softly caressing my skin as we walked into the peaceful grounds. Physically, I was in Mason's bedroom, on the floor, my body battered and used without care. Mentally, I was enjoying a day with my raven-haired hero, the man who had consumed my thoughts from the moment I met him.

So lost in my own world I was that I didn't even realize when it was all over. Gripping my hips painfully, he pulled out of me with a loud groan, and then he emptied himself in long forceful spurts on my back, some landing on my shoulders, some on my hair and also my lower back. I didn't know how long I laid there in the same position, frozen. I heard him sigh deeply, his breaths clearly audible as he collected himself.

"You know what? Maybe _I'm_ not the problem, have you thought about that? Maybe _you're_ the problem, and I'm just tired of having to put up with you. My biggest regret was when I took you in when nobody else wanted you, Elena. Even your parents would rather die than take care of you. Well, at least you were a good fuck."

My eyes closed of their own accord, and I remained still, soaking up the moment of silence that stretched after his cruel speech. When they opened up again a while later, I could no longer sense his presence in the room with me. I strained my ears, trying to pinpoint his exact location in the house, but there was nothing but the sound of the neighborhood waking up on Christmas morning. It should have been a merry occasion, but the day now held nothing but painful memories for me. What used to be the best holiday I ever spent with my parents and their friends was now irreparably tarnished by Mason.

Raising my head a little, I peeked around the room, searching for a sign of life, but there was nobody else. I only had two thoughts in my mind at that moment; to hide and protect myself, and also to get rid of any and all signs of the last hour. When I moved my lower body, I wanted to scream from the pain that enveloped me, but I was determined to stick to my plan.

I mustered the rest of my strength by slowly crawling towards the bathroom, the sound of the running water guiding me over. Cautiously and with extreme slowness, I managed to crawl inch-by-inch and once inside, I barricaded the door by locking it and then used anything within reach from my lower position to stack them up against the door. It may have been a futile effort, but I didn't dwell on it. I just had to keep moving.

I crawled the rest of the way into the shower stall, and let the water I had left running cascade down over me, washing away the proof of my traumatic morning. I sat down on the floor of the bathroom, my back against the tiled wall as I lifted a heavy arm to twist the shower knob so that the water became scalding hot.

I needed to be clean.

The temperature may have been too hot, but I didn't mind because the pain I felt from the burn was tons better than the pain in my chest. I didn't allow myself to feel, didn't allow myself to think, and just concentrated on getting clean. I grabbed a sponge loofah then proceeded to scrub at my skin, going through every inch carefully and methodically until my body was covered with red marks.

At one point, when the hot water ran out and all that was left was freezing cold water that continued to rain down on me, another thought occurred to me. I pulled myself up to my feet, leaning heavily on the wall for support, and then I caught my reflection on the bathroom mirror.

I didn't see someone I recognized. It wasn't just the physical changes I detected from being manhandled by Mason. I was a ghost, a hollowed out shell of the girl I used to be, and I knew without a doubt that nothing would ever be the same again. The devastated look I saw in the mirror was one I had seen before. It was the exact look I had the last time I peered into the same mirror, with Caroline beside me that day I made the unwise decision to cut off my friends. I looked as if I had looked Death directly in the face and seen the bleakness of my future. My life, as I knew it, was over.

Without any further hesitation, I reached out with a trembling hand to take Mason's shaving blade between my fingers. Then, looking back into the mirror, I stared directly into my empty eyes and lifted that same hand, smiling sadly.

* * *

**A/N: There's cliffy Number ONE. I do so enjoy being evil in fiction.**

* * *

_Damon's POV_

I sat on my regular barstool at the Grill, ignoring the bartender, Donovan's puzzled gaze. Perhaps it wasn't a normal sight for him to see me ordering shot after shots of whisky and then tossing them down continuously as if I was making up for lost time, but he said nothing as he continued to clean more glasses.

Just when I raised yet another glass to my lips, a hand shot out from behind me and snatched it away. I looked up just in time to see Blondie tilting her head back and swallowing the contents in a single gulp. She cringed at the strong aftertaste and released a shudder as she sank down heavily in the seat next to me.

"I'm the world's suckiest best friend," she announced glumly, heaving a deep sigh as she slammed the now empty glass on the bar counter. Really, she was being too hard on herself, but I wasn't in the mood to argue with her. "And _you_, you should learn this little thing known as answering your phone for once, buster!"

"You owe me fifteen bucks for that drink," I quipped, rolling my bloodshot eyes at Donovan as I ignored her last comment. Truthfully, I had my phone on silent after seeing the first call from Elena earlier. I already knew what she was going to say anyway, so why even bother to answer and listen to the same excuses she insisted on giving on behalf of that jerk? I should have known, though, that Blondie would find me. The girl had the instincts of a bloodhound.

"Fifteen bucks for a mouthful of detergent?!" she gasped, pinning her annoyed gaze on the poor bartender. "Matt, you can't charge that amount of money for crap like that! At least bring out the good stuff, or you know, give it to us for a friendly discounted price."

Hmm. I really thought that Blondie would get on my case for drinking again, but apparently she was as upset as I was, maybe even more so. Elena was her best friend, after all, and she probably felt bad that she wasn't able to stop her from making the worst mistake of her life by marrying Jerkwood. The reminder of that little fact immediately sobered me up, so I reached out to take another shot, but once again, Blondie robbed me of it.

"I can't believe Elena's being so stupid," she said before tossing the drink back like a seasoned pro. You'd think she was an alcoholic the way she was practically inhaling the heavy stuff down so effortlessly. "I really thought that we'd gotten through to her when she finally moved out of his house, but now she's back with him again as if nothing has happened! We really need to go back there and change her-"

"I don't want to talk about it, Care. In fact, I don't even want to think. I came here to sit down and enjoy my drink peacefully, not to have you constantly reminding me about her or the fact that I have failed so miserably at my job. And, you now owe me thirty bucks but I'm willing to waive that off if you'll agree to leave me alone and go do….whatever it is you do on Christmas day. I heard that the black Santa from last night would be at the mall today. Why don't you go and sit on his lap and tell him all about what a good girl you've been this year, hmm?"

I waved her off with one hand and signaled for Donovan to refill the two empty glasses. He came over, a small hand towel slung over one shoulder and eyed me and my partner-in-crime while wordlessly pouring the amber liquid in front of us. Then, he lingered in the vicinity while pretending like he wasn't trying to eavesdrop on us.

For a moment there, I thought I had successfully managed to shut Blondie up for the very first time, but then she let out a huge bomb the size of Hiroshima. And Nagasaki. Combined.

"I may or may not have told Elena that you are in love with her," she blurted out suddenly, her eyes downcast as she avoided my shocked gaze.

"You _what_?!" I yelled out, drawing the attention of everyone in the restaurant…bar….cafe. Okay, what the hell is the Mystic Grill anyway?! Was it important? Nope. "Care, you seriously stepped over the line this time. How could you _do_ that? How could you tell her _that_?"

I watched with narrowed eyes as she squirmed in her seat, looking longingly at the two glasses of Bourbon recently poured by Donovan.

"Well, remember this morning when we said that we'll explain everything to Elena so that there would be no more misunderstandings? I-I thought that's what we were doing," she said softly with uncertainty in her tone.

"Yeah, but that was _before_ we knew she had agreed to marry that asshole Mason Lockwood! What does the truth even matter _now_? She left the party we planned for her last night because she decided to marry him," I told her in a bitter tone, shaking my head at the thought of seeing Elena walking down an aisle, dressed gloriously in white. Only, _I_ wasn't the groom. Then I had a vision of that perfectly white gown stained in red, slowly spreading through the fabric.

Blood.

"Wait, Elena _accepted_ Mason's proposal?" The question came from the blond bartender who froze in his act of cleaning the counter, his pretty blue eyes trained on both of us. "Because _that's_ not what I gathered from her last night."

I blinked at him, wondering what he meant by that and turned to look at Blondie who wore a similar expression as I probably did. Then I remembered. Meredith told us that Elena hitched a ride back to the Forbes' residence with Donovan last night. That meant….

"She spoke to you about it? What did she say? Did she tell you _if_ he proposed, _when_ he proposed, and _how_ he proposed? Because she hasn't seen him for weeks, so how could he have had the chance to see her? Tell me _exactly_ what happened last night," I asked eagerly, more animated than I had been since last night.

I didn't take my attention away from the guy, but I could feel Blondie leaning in and then her elbows came to rest on the counter, right beside mine. Our focus were entirely on the nervous bartender now, because obviously, nobody really pays attention to the guy who pours everyone drinks except when they wanted a drink. There should be a bar where the patrons could pour their own drinks, then bartenders would be extinct.

I might be a tad bit drunk.

"Well, err, we were in my truck and Elena looked really sad for some reason. She was holding a ring in her hand and looking down at it as if she was wondering what to do with it. So I asked her," he shrugged, looking surprised that we were both still hanging onto his every word. "She was quiet for a long time, but finally, she asked me what I would do if someone I cared about but not necessarily in love with wanted to marry me. She seemed hesitant and certainly not one who was about to agree to marry someone."

Whoa. So she was not _in_ love with Mason? What did that even mean? Did she accept his proposal because she felt _sorry_ for him? Or was it because she thought she was losing me and her best friend, I wondered with a sinking feeling. Perhaps Care was right. This whole misunderstanding about me being in love with the wrong person was turning into a fiasco.

"But she _must_ have accepted, or she wouldn't be over there now. Mason called it an _engagement_ ring when he was asking if she'd seen it earlier, remember? And Elena knew exactly which pants pocket of his it was in, too," Blondie deducted, and I had to agree with her observations. Elena may not have been acting like an _excited_ bride-to-be, but she was still going to marry him.

"Yeah, I guess that ship has sailed, huh?" I asked, not really expecting an answer.

Donovan let out a scoff and rolled his eyes at us. Hey! He totally stole that move from me!

"Seriously, do I really need to spell it out for you two?" he asked with an incredulous look at both of us. Well, he might _have_ to, because I seemed to be missing an important link. "If Elena was engaged, she would be _wearing_ the ring, wouldn't she? A newly engaged woman would _never_ leave her ring in a pocket, let alone in _his_ pants. It sounds a lot more like she rejected his proposal and returned the ring to him, if you asked me."

Matt Donovan is officially the smartest man on the planet.

"I could kiss you," I declared, smiling for the first time since I woke up today.

My favorite bartender shot a worried look over at me at my statement. "But you won't, right? I'll give you a special 'friends-only' discount if you promise you won't."

I pretended to consider his offer for a moment and then leaned in unexpectedly close to his head, making him shrink back in alarm, thinking that I was about to lay one on him. Then I lowered my voice and whispered, "Deal."

Feeling loads lighter, I decided to reward myself with a celebratory drink before I headed home. As soon as I reached out to pick up my drink, Blondie swooped in with her fast and nimble fingers again and regarded me with a cheeky grin before she bottomed-up in one go.

"Aahhhh, you know what? It doesn't taste half-bad once you get the hang of it," she said, smacking her lips loudly. "Anyway, Elena wanted me to find you and stop you from this downward spiral of alcoholism you seem hell-bent to be on after nine years of sobriety, and oh yes, she also asked you to call her."

I nodded my head, acknowledging the request of my brunette beauty, my hand reaching for the remaining shot of Bourbon absently, but this time, it was Donovan who hastily snatched it up right out from my fingers, and then downing it. "Elena," he said simply with a lopsided grin. It was a reminder that she would not be happy if she knew that I had alcohol in my system, not counting the ones already in there before Blondie decided to grace me with her presence.

Groaning in defeat, I stood up quickly, fishing some notes out of my jacket pocket and headed out the door, making a beeline for my car. Not long after, Blondie fell into step beside me.

"Are you going over to see her now? I'll come with, if you are," she offered.

"Nope. I'm going home."

What I didn't tell her was that I was heading home to get Elena's Christmas gifts for her from….somewhere in my room, and then I'd be heading over to Jerkwood's place. This time, I was going to listen to what she had to say, and not leave until I heard her out. Then, and only then, would I _make_ her go home with me. With Blondie, I meant.

Oops.

"Are you sure you'll be fine on your own? Because I don't think you should be left alone without adult supervision, you know? I can't go with you because I promised Elena that I'd go back to check up on her and maybe yell at her a little bit," Blondie said, sounding completely serious and I believed her whole-heartedly. I was very grateful that she came by to check up on me, despite being worried sick over her best friend. Caroline Forbes is perfectly capable of being a sweet person when she's not stealing my drinks from right under my nose.

"Go yell, Care, but be gentle, okay? I'll see you later." I gave her a little wave and then I was off. I found myself going over the entire scene on Elena's doorstep this morning, scrutinizing every single action of hers in an attempt to find a clue that could bring down Donovan's entire theory. She seemed uncomfortable, even tired, but she certainly didn't appear to be acting as if she was about to get married to the jerk.

As far as I was concerned, as long as she hadn't said "I do" then there's still hope.

At that thought, I raced back to the mansion in record time, ignoring my brother who was caught offguard when I burst through the front door and almost knocked him over in my haste to get upstairs. I barely spared him a glance as I ran into my bedroom, my head turning left and right, trying to spot the strewn items I meant to give to Elena last night, before all hell broke loose.

To my relief, I spotted the bear in one corner, then the jewelry box not far from it. I hurried over to pick them up and pondered whether I should take the time to rewrap them until I remembered the phone in my pocket. I fished it out, sliding my thumb across the screen to activate it and saw that I had seven missed calls in total; four from Elena and three from Blondie.

I reset the ringer button so that it was no longer on silent. The message icon was also lit up, signaling that I had an unread message. I decided to view that first and found out that there was a voice mail left for me more than an hour ago. It was probably from Elena, I realized with a guilty pang. Before I could press on the button to play the message, my phone rang, startling me since I had been staring so intently at it.

Blondie.

"If you're calling to check if I've been drinking, I haven't nearly had the time, Ca-"

"Get over here," she cut in, her voice sounding serious for a change. "Get over here, _now_!"

I couldn't help the panic that started to set in when I heard the tone of her voice. It was shaky and low, as if she was in fear. "What is it? What happened?"

"Damon," she paused, sending my blood pressure skyrocketing. "The front door was wide open when I got here. I-I found some torn clothes on the floor of their bedroom and I can hear the shower running in the bathroom but the door's locked. I've been knocking for ages, but I can't hear anything in there. I don't know what to do."

Okay, _now_ I am officially terrified, I thought to myself. "Keep trying, Care. I'll be there in ten."

I left the house empty-handed, the thought of such trivial things like Christmas presents now far from my mind. Besides, I needed _both_ my hands to pray that I would find Elena in one piece.

* * *

I strode through the front door, left wide open as Blondie said. It was dead quiet in the house, the air so still and stiff, I felt as if I could cut through it with a knife. There was an eerie feeling the deeper I walked into the house. I had only been there once prior to this, and that was the day Mr. Cuddles met his untimely death, albeit a temporary one.

It felt as if I was walking into a trap, because the place reminded me of one of those houses in a cheesy horror flick, and I was about to discover that one of my friends had been brutally murdered in the basement. An image of a bloody Caroline popped into my head, because the blonde's always the first one to die, right? At least, that's always the predictable start of the typical horror story.

"Care?" I called out, feeling stupid that I was actually afraid to go any further. What if Mason had done something to Elena, and while I was freaking out while driving over, he'd murdered Caroline and was now burying her body into a wall?

Damn Kevin Williamson and his new series, The Following! It's giving me all sorts of paranoid ideas. I also recently started sleeping with the lights on, just as a precaution.

"Damon? I'm upstairs!" she replied, her voice urgent.

I ran up the stairs, taking two steps at once and in no time, I was face-to-door with a panicked Caroline at my side.

"There's no response from inside, and I tried to pick the lock with a hairpin, but I really don't know what I'm doing," Blondie told me, tears of concern starting to gather in her eyes. "And I found more clues as to what happened here."

I looked over to her and she was pointing at an item on the floor. Recognizing it as Elena's phone, I bent over to pick it up, noting the cracked screen and jagged edges that suggested that it was either thrown or smashed during a scuffle. My heart thudded with fear and my eyes automatically scanned around the room for more clues.

Spotting a discarded bra on the floor near to the bathroom door, I sat down on my hunches and saw that the clasp was broken as if it had been forcibly pulled off. A few feet away, a familiar pair of shorts was lying on the carpet and I recognized it as the one Elena wore the first day she stayed over at Blondie's house. Upon closer inspection, I found it torn apart at the joints.

Nausea came over me at the thought of that monster laying his hands on her that way. Still perched low on the floor, my eyes swept the area where her shorts were strewn, and I managed to spot something that Blondie missed.

Blood marks.

They were smeared and faint, but they were there. I was beating my fists on the bathroom door in two seconds flat. "Elena? Elena, it's Damon. Please answer me!" The terror in my voice must have been obvious, because Caroline was downright hyperventilating as she came to stand beside me.

"What is it, Damon? Please don't scare me!" She was gripping my arm in a painful grip, but I barely registered the pain as I continued to pound at the door.

"He raped her," I answered, my jaws clenched tightly. "That filthy bastard raped her!"

I was beside myself with worry, and there had to be a better way to gain entry into the locked room, so I backed up a few paces and flung myself at the door. The parts of my body that connected with the unyielding material was in pain, but I wasn't about to give up. I repeated the action three more times, each time with more force than the one before and then, suddenly, the door gave way.

I stumbled and fell through the doorway, crashing headfirst into the countertop, and I only managed to narrowly avoid the impact when my hands shot out to grab hold of the surface. I turned my head towards the shower stall and froze when I saw her, my blood turning cold at the sight of her.

Vaguely, I could feel Caroline making her way over to where I stood, still gripping the counter for support, otherwise I'd surely fall to my knees in sorrow. A sob escaped from the girl behind me, but I didn't even turn my head to acknowledge it or provide some kind of comfort. My eyes refused to budge from the disturbing image before me.

"My God, what have you done to yourself, Elena?" came the heartbroken moan from Caroline.

* * *

**My twitter: cgsa_cher (I talk all sorts of crap all day, Sometimes, I even overshare!)**

**A shoutout to my very talented beta Kristi (tukct81). Without her, I'd be….sitting on a pavement and crying because of my crappy English. Yay for not crying!**

**If you're mad at me after that cliffy, yell at me by reviewing.**

**If you love all things Delena, fangirl with me by reviewing.**

**If you hate Mason and want to send him behind bars, please rally by reviewing. **

**If you're bored and just want to talk, then talk to me by reviewing.**

**If you've read this story from the start and never reviewed, then start now by reviewing.**

**If you want to read a story but don't know what to say in a review, let's pop your review cherry by reviewing.**

**If this subject matter has touched you in any way, then share your experience with me by reviewing.**

**Finally, if you HATE to leave reviews after reading a chapter, then inform me by reviewing. :D **

**And yes, I realized that Elena never got to brush her teeth. *shrugs***


	14. Chapter 14

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: WOW! You guys just blew my mind with the amount of passionate responses to the previous chapter. **

**85 reviews for chapter 13 alone? Allow me to bow before you all. I'm humbled by your amazing support! Special shout-outs to all those who reviewed but I wasn't able to respond to. You all ROCK!**

**Special mentions to a few people who helped with my legal and medical questions; Carol, Layla, bibi 13ca, Kristi and Kim. I'd be so lost without you all. HUGE HUGS!**

* * *

**A Woman's Worth: Chapter FOURTEEN**

_Damon's POV_

I thought that the scariest moment of my life was that time when I found my mother lying dead on the floor with my little brother kneeling right beside her, holding her hand and waiting on her to wake up. At _that_ moment, I was afraid for little Stefan and myself, not knowing what was going to happen, whether we would be separated or whether our father was going to come after us next. I thought that I'd never have to feel that kind of fear ever again for as long as I lived.

I could not be more wrong.

There are no words to describe the feelings that coursed through my veins as I stood there motionless in a bathroom, looking at the girl I loved curled up on the floor, surrounded by cascading water from the shower and holding a razor blade between her fingers that was now lying limp on the cold tiled floor. Large wet clumps of her beautiful brown hair circled the drain cover beside her prone body, while some clung onto her skin like a veil, covering part of her face, shoulders and chest from view.

It was the most disturbing sight I have ever seen, and I have seen _plenty_ in my line of work, even horrifying death scenes at times. But _this_…it could possibly be even worse than death.

My body's automatic response after getting over my initial shock was to get over to Elena as soon as I regained control of my limbs, and then I was kneeling down beside her, shutting off the freezing water supply that rained over her before I allowed my eyes to wander over her body to see the extent of her injuries. She was naked, but as much as I had craved to see her body in my wildest imagination, I wasn't checking out her womanly curves or her lady parts to satisfy my curiosity.

No, the sight of her battered and trembling body did not do anything for my libido. On the contrary. I had a hard time swallowing back my nausea from seeing the redness of her skin, some in deeper shades than the rest while some were covered with purpling bruises even as I watched. She looked as if she had been out in the sun for far too long while scrubbing her skin raw with a scouring pad.

Then there was her hair. I used to have to fight the urge to run my fingers through her long and silky strands, but now all that was left of her glorious mane was a much shorter, unevenly cut style. I wanted to cry for her, not because of something as trivial as vanity, but because I could only imagine what she must have gone through emotionally in order to lift that blade in her hand and sawed through small locks of her hair, bit by bit, until they were roughly shoulder-length.

I reached out slowly and carefully to remove the sharp blade from between her fingers, not wanting to accidentally spook her or cut her but she didn't react, merely staring blankly at the opposite wall.

I quickly perused over her wrists, searching for any sign of self-mutilation, but thankfully, there were none. However, I could now see the marks on both of her arms left by the monster who had no doubt held her down forcefully as he sexually assaulted her. The other hand was also swollen around the knuckles, suggesting that they might be fractured or sprained.

"Elena," I whispered with a lump in my throat, reaching over to gently brush away the leftover strands from her impromptu haircut from her face. The moment my finger contacted with her skin, however, she jumped about a foot high, her eyes wide with terror. My heart fell when she cowered away from me, her head shaking in denial at being touched. "Elena, it's _me_. It's Damon," I said in what I hoped was a soothing voice, attempting to calm her down as I raised my hands in front of her, making it clear that I wouldn't touch her if she didn't want me to.

I couldn't bear the thought of her being afraid of _me_. I would _never_ hurt her in a million years.

She was shaking like leaf, whether from fear or from the cold water earlier, I didn't know. All I knew was that I had to get her out of there and quickly, too, as her lips was turning blue. It was then that I realized that she had been sitting in the bathroom for goodness knows how long in a catatonic state because apparently, she didn't even realize that Caroline and I were in there with her for the past few minutes. She didn't seem to know that we had been pounding on the door, trying to get her to let us in, or the fact that I practically broke the entire door down to get to her.

"Damon?" she mumbled, her frantic eyes searched for mine as she returned to reality.

I nodded in relief, my fingers reaching out to stroke the side of her face, but she hastily retreated against the bathroom wall when my fingers brushed across a particularly sensitive patch of skin right at her jaw line. That was when I finally noticed the discoloration there.

Lockwood was a _dead_ man!

"I'm here, Elena. You're safe now." I turned back to shoot a meaningful look at the distraught blonde behind me and nodded once to her before turning back to gaze down at Elena. "We're going to dry you off and get you out of here, okay?" I asked softly, and then a white towel appeared over my right shoulder, courtesy of the silent Caroline.

When she didn't respond, I cautiously covered her body with the towel, and then I lifted her up in my arms, ignoring the dripping water that stained my jacket and shirt as I slowly made my way into the bedroom with Caroline trailing behind us. I set her down on the edge of the bed as gently as possible before I silently urged the uncharacteristically-silent blonde to come forward.

"Care, can you get her changed while I pack up her stuff?" I asked over my shoulder, my eyes never once straying from Elena's face, noticing that it was now devoid of emotions. I wondered if I had lost her again to her own safe place in her mind, where she felt the need to retreat into rather than being in the present with us. I didn't blame her.

When Caroline came over to take my place in front of her, I reluctantly left them alone for some privacy while I made my way around the room, grabbing random items from the closet and drawers that might be hers while throwing them in an unorganized pile into a suitcase. I didn't want Elena to be in that house for even a second longer than absolutely necessary, so I put my multitasking skills to the test as I placed a call to Elijah.

It was time to involve the police in this case, and I wanted the filthy monster to be caught and kept behind bars before we even left the house. I raced around the room with various articles of Elena's clothing in one hand as I waited for Elijah to pick up the phone but before the call connected, a low moan and then a wince sounded from the bed, causing me to hastily retrace my steps to find Caroline holding the towel up in front of Elena, no longer white but now stained with scattered tinges of red.

Blood.

It seemed to be a recurring theme lately, starting from earlier today at the bar when I had this spine-chilling image of Elena with a blood-stained wedding gown. In hindsight, that was probably an omen of the horrors that awaited us.

I didn't think it was possible to hate Lockwood even more that I already did, but now, I just wanted his head on a platter. My hands clenched in tight fists beside me as I imagined myself rushing home and arming myself with the gun hidden in my bedside drawer, and then going all vigilante on him, emptying every single bullet into his body, starting with his penis. Yes, I would commit murder for this one girl that I loved beyond all reason.

"I-I was just drying her off and then-and then, there was blood…and her skin…." Caroline muttered, stumbling over her words as her eyes fixed on a spot between Elena's legs. "What did he do to you, Elena?" she moaned, her face crumpling into an expression of grief.

We needed to get to a hospital. Now.

Stifling the urge to sink down onto my knees and breaking down into tears of despair, I grabbed the towel from Caroline's grip and took over, sensing that the blonde was about an inch from losing it completely. I didn't have time for this. I could only handle one damsel at a time, and this was not the time to freak out. Elena needed me, and by golly, I wasn't about to let her down now.

"Care, can you look for a robe, something really soft? And here, take my phone and get a photo of everything in this room that might be evidence for what happened but don't contaminate the crime scene, okay? We'll need to document them for Elijah later," I instructed, and thankfully, she composed herself long enough to make herself useful while I returned my attention to the once-again shivering Elena.

In the back of my mind, it was probably inappropriate for me to be the one to get her dressed while she was sitting completely naked on the bed, rocking back and forth with her arms wrapped around her chest, but it wasn't the time to dwell on propriety. I detached myself from being the man who was in love with the woman before me, and adopted the professional persona of being her case-handler, here only to do a job and _that_ was to protect my charge, feelings be damned. So, I dabbed the towel lightly over her sensitive skin, left raw and bruised by her vigorous rubbing earlier, and I watched with a heavy heart as each dab left her skin with tiny red dots, especially around her inner thighs.

I bit my lower lip in frustration when the towel came away with a larger blood stain after I gently ran it over the apex of her thighs, seeing the worst of the damage done by the man who should no longer be allowed to roam free amongst society. Feeling my sanity hanging on by a thread, I quickly finished drying off the rest of her body and what's left of her hair, and then wrapped her with a silk robe that Caroline had managed to find, tying the sash loosely around her tiny waist. I couldn't risk getting her dressed in anything else for fear that it would aggravate her skin any further.

"Elena, wait here for me, okay? I won't be long," I told her, my fingers wrapped around her freezing hand, the uninjured one, feeling its lifelessness in mine. Once again, I failed to get a respond. I was about to release it when my finger touched something hard around hers, and looking down, I had to suppress an angry growl.

It was the engagement ring, lodged partway down her ring finger. It was a size or two too small, and it appeared as if it was forcefully shoved down her finger, judging by a deep scratch that ran over her knuckle. Bile rose in my throat at the thought of Elena marrying that rapist, and I all but snatched the offending item off her finger and threw it behind me, not caring where it landed. Belatedly, it occurred to me that I should have shoved it down Lockwood's throat through his nostril and watched while he choked on it and died.

Shaking my head to clear it, I quickly got to work; I gathered the suitcase now filled with everything that belonged to Elena and made a hasty trip to my car, placing it in the trunk before I returned upstairs, finding Blondie wrapping up with her photo-taking skills and taking one final zoom at the smudged blood stain on the carpet I found earlier. I knew from experience from hanging out with Elijah and also the numerous episodes of CSI I watched over the years that evidence at a crime scene shouldn't be tampered with or they could not be admissible into court. But then again, Lockwood could very well return soon and destroy any trace of his assault, so I wanted to have some photographic evidence at least, just in case Elijah and his team did not arrive in time to catalogue them.

I returned to Elena's side the moment I reentered the bedroom, fighting the urge to just grab her and run, away from this room, this house, this monster and the traumatic experience associated with all three. I wanted to protect her, to make her forget that any of this ever happened, like it was all just a bad dream. I wanted to escape from reality with her, and live together in a dreamland free from suffering and pain, but I knew that it was wishful thinking on my part.

The horrible ordeal was over, but the worst part was yet to come. The aftermath's a bitch and I wished that I could shield her from it all, from reliving every single moment of it, exposing the raw wounds all over again, but I couldn't. And shouldn't.

Lockwood needed to pay for what he did.

I picked up the girl in my arms, lifting her higher up and closer to me as I carried her down to my car before setting her down gingerly in the backseat. Wordlessly, I threw my car keys over to the blonde, making it clear that I expected her to do the driving while I got into the back with Elena. I could see the surprise in Blondie's expression, because it was common knowledge that I would _never_ allow anyone to get behind the wheel of my baby, not while I was alive. And normally I wouldn't, except this was not a normal occasion.

And also, I couldn't bring myself to let go of my little damsel right now, not when holding her hand in mine was the only proof I had that she was still here, albeit broken and beaten, but alive nonetheless. It was an assurance that I needed badly in order to preserve my sanity.

In a way, I was kind of relieved and oddly grateful that my mother died when she did, because at least she found peace at last and she was finally safe from my father. _Death_ would have been kinder, and I know it sounds bad to say this, but surviving this kind of abuse and later, having to face the world and the monster who did it, face-to-face in an open court would be a fate worse than death.

I was roused from my inner musings when I felt a weight on my shoulder, and I turned my head to find that Elena had leaned in, perhaps unknowingly, and rested her head there while cradling her injured hand against her chest. Automatically, my arms circled around her waist and I simply held her in my embrace as tight as I dared, letting her know that I was there for her, that I was staying by her side like I should have earlier that morning.

I didn't let myself process the part I played in what happened to her yet, and I knew that the moment I had a spare minute, I was going to torture myself with a bunch of 'what-ifs' and 'I should'ves'. Elena didn't need my guilt right now, not when I needed to be strong for her.

I let her down today, and I would have to spend the rest of my life trying to make it up to her.

* * *

The next few hours passed in a hazy blur of activities. It started with a telephone call to Elijah from the backseat of the car as I held Elena in my embrace, asking him to meet us at the hospital without divulging any details. As soon as we arrived at the emergency department, I wasted no time in flinging my car door open, and then carrying my charge into the lobby, past the reception and the staff who were calling after me. I wasn't about to subject her to curious gazes from busybodies, a line of questionings about her health, and worse still, whispered guesses of what might have happened to her from strangers.

I headed straight to Meredith's office and upon reaching it, heaved a sigh of relief when I saw her in there. She looked up from her stack of paperwork in surprise when I entered with her former patient, and I gave a firm shake of my head to prevent her from asking pointed questions about the reason we were there. I could see her eyes perusing over Elena with her critical doctor's appraisal, starting with the shock at seeing her much shorter disheveled hair, and she didn't like what she saw, judging from the way her lips pressed together firmly.

"Care, can you stay with Elena while I have a quick word with Mer outside?" I asked Blondie who had followed me into the office. Right now, there was nobody else I would trust to be left alone with Elena, and I was lucky enough that Caroline was there with me throughout the entire ordeal. She was the _one_ person who understood, who felt everything that I was feeling now, only maybe a watered down version because I was a mess on the inside.

"Of course," Care responded without any hesitation, and I watched with grim satisfaction when she wrapped a protective arm around her best friend's shoulders and hugged her close.

With one last look at the subdued brunette, I pushed Meredith out into the hallway, closing the door behind me just as Elijah walked up.

"Damon, what's wrong? Did something happen?" he asked with a look of concern.

Those two seemingly innocent questions were the last straw for my tightly controlled emotions. My two friends exchanged a look of alarm when I strode towards a wall and proceeded to slam my fist into it with a loud roar.

"Hey, hey, stop that!" the doctor called out as she grabbed my arm to stop my tantrum. "Tell me what happened so that I can help Elena."

Her name was exactly what I needed to hear to calm me down, the thought of her in there with Caroline, scared and probably traumatized after what she went through this morning and then I remembered the blood on her skin and her thighs. "Lockwood raped her," I bit out, gritting my teeth with disgust. Two shocked gasps were the only responses I received immediately after my announcement.

"He beat her and sexually assaulted her and we found her, naked and bruised on the bathroom floor, holding a razor blade in one hand," I went on when they didn't seem capable of talking.

"She tried to commit suicide?" Meredith asked with a worried frown.

"No…I don't know, maybe," I shook my head and shrugged. Turning my attention to Elijah, I handed my cell phone to him as I said, "The bastard wasn't at the house when I got there, but we took pictures of what we found at the site."

I waited impatiently as he scrolled through the photos taken by Caroline earlier, his scowl deepening after every image. The moment he raised his tortured eyes back to me, I knew that he would do everything in his power to bring that monster to justice. In fact, if he wasn't such a moral detective, I daresay he would have aimed his gun at him and fired until he ran out of bullets. But this was Elijah and he wouldn't do that. Stupid ethics!

"I'll send an officer to get Elena's statement shortly. I'll call you when I have news." That was all he said before he tossed my phone back to me and hurried off, lifting his own phone to his ear. Now that the police was involved and with one of my best friends heading the case, I could focus on Elena's recovery and made sure that she stayed protected from Lockwood's reach.

"I'll get the nurses to run a rape kit on Elena and then we'll have a look at the extent of her injuries. Is there anything I should know about?" Meredith asked as she slipped back into her professional role.

"I found her barricaded in the bathroom with the shower on, so I assumed that she must have cleaned herself up before I got there. She was bleeding and her skin looked red and extremely raw. I think he hit her face, too." That's it, cool and calm like the good doctor. The situation didn't need me going off in emotional outbursts now. Meredith nodded and left me standing there alone in the hallway as she approached the nurses' station and issued instructions, and then two of them followed after her, reentering her office after a quick knock on the door.

I allowed myself a brief moment to compose myself. It was an extremely difficult task, holding myself back and being all calm when all I wanted to do was to either go look for the monster myself or to drink myself into oblivion at the Grill. I couldn't take this inactivity, not when I could feel my self-loathing creeping in and doing its best to claw at my sanity. My mind wanted to give in but I held it off merely by the fingertips, knowing full well that if I let myself succumb to it, I might not make my way back in time if Elena needed me. So, I held on.

Luckily I did so, because then I heard _her_ voice, screaming in a panic. I didn't even pause to consider whether I was allowed inside when Meredith was with her, but I charged in like a bull anyway, my eyes instantly seeking her out. She was struggling against the nurses who were trying to get her into a wheelchair, screaming at the top of her lungs as if they were hurting her. I was by her side in an instant, grabbing her shoulders and calling her name.

"Elena. It's okay, Elena. They're trying to help you," I said in an effort to comfort her, but she refused to listen, her hands pushing against mine as she shook her head in denial. "Mer, what's going on?"

"I told her that we were moving her to a private room to do the rape kit, and then she started freaking out the moment we touched her. She kept saying 'No' and telling us not to touch her. Damon, we _need_ to get this done," Mer reminded me, with a meaningful look. She was right, of course she was, but I wasn't at all surprised by Elena's reaction. She was stressed out and probably still raw from the ordeal but we couldn't afford to waste any more time.

I crouched down low beside Elena's chair and cupped her face, resisting her struggles. "Listen to me, Elena. It's Damon, okay? You know I won't let anyone hurt you," I said softly as I gazed deeply into her fearful eyes. "I promise they won't hurt you, okay? Meredith and the nurses just want to help you, and you need to let them do their jobs. Caroline will be with you the entire time, and I'll be right outside, waiting for you until you're done."

"No, please, I don't want to be here. I don't want to be touched. I c-can't stand it…it hurts, Damon. It h-hurts so much," she whispered, her eyes pleading for me to understand. And I did, but as much as I wanted to hide her from the rest of the world until she was ready to rejoin it again, she needed medical care right now. There were no two ways about it.

I nodded and rubbed my thumbs tenderly over her cheeks, the parts that were not bruised or sensitive. "I know it does, sweetie, but you have to be brave for me this _one_ time, okay? You trust Meredith, right? She's going to take the pain away and then we can go home. You want to see Pig again, don't you?" I asked hurriedly right after I mentioned the word 'home', which made her look fearful again. Of course I wouldn't let her go back to _that_ place ever again. To be honest, I wouldn't even let her go home with Blondie, not if it meant that the monster could return and somehow convince her to go back with him again. It happened once before, and I wasn't about to make the same mistake twice.

"I can't, I can't do it. I just want to forget everything, please," she begged me, her eyes shining with unshed tears and I understood perfectly where she was coming from. It was the exact same thing I was feeling when I first turned to alcohol as a means of escaping. But there was no escape, not from this evil that was eating us alive from the inside. It was always there, lurking, waiting for a chance to pounce on us and destroy us when we least expect it.

I hated myself for what I was about to do to Elena, but it had to be done. "Elena, you were just _raped_ by your boyfriend," I told her, cringing inwardly when she flinched at my usage of the ugly word. "It's not something that you can just forget about. He held you down, beat you up and forced himself on you. I'm willing to bet that he didn't think about using protection while he was busy raping you, did he? In addition to the chances of contracting sexually transmitted diseases, you could actually get pregnant from this."

I was a bastard for doing this to her, especially when she was so fragile. But it might just be the only way to get through to her now. It was the whole truth and nothing _but_ the truth, but I still felt lousy for putting that expression on her face, as if someone had told a little five-year-old that Santa doesn't exist and that God was a myth. At this point, I was pretty certain that He didn't exist, or if He did, then He was damn lousy at His job. If there _was_ a God, then why would someone like Elena suffer so much in her young life?

"B-but he didn't…h-he pulled out," she swallowed hard, her face turning ashen at the memory.

"There's still a risk, Elena. I can run some tests, make sure you're clean and that there's no chance of that happening. It'll give you some peace of mind, at the very least," Mer said kindly.

Still undecided, Elena looked to me for support, and I tightened my grip on her as I nodded in encouragement. She was afraid, I knew, but by some miracle she still trusted me even though I didn't deserve it. "I'll be right outside the examination room, okay? I'll come and get you the second you're done," I promised.

She nodded hesitantly, and I watched her go with increasing worry, trailing behind the group as they pushed her out of Meredith's office and towards an empty room, her wide eyes on me the entire time as mine was on her. Blondie patted my arm comfortingly before she joined Elena up in front while I kept my gaze on my nervous brunette until some swinging doors blocked my view when they entered the Emergency Department.

There was nothing to do now but wait, and I paced up and down the narrow corridor, counting each and every step I took, ignoring the curious gazes from the people in the waiting room. In my mind, I kept replaying the scene at the house, that moment when I first clad eyes on Elena in the bathroom when I managed to break down the door. That one snapshot moment that could very well win a prize for the most heartbreaking image ever captured. That image was wreaking havoc within my chest, so I pushed it away before it could consume me and turn me into a writhing mess on the hospital floor.

I counted to four hundred and eighty steps before my phone rang, and I heaved a sigh of relief for the distraction. It was Elijah.

"Damon," he greeted, his voice completely serious. "We got him, but he's refusing to talk without his lawyer present. Since the attack is only hearsay at the moment, I can't hold him at the station for long, not without an official statement from Elena."

My body relaxed at the news, glad that the monster was nowhere near Elena at the moment. "She's having her examination done now, and I don't know how long it'll take. Mer's conducting the rape kit and then I guess she'll have to treat all her injuries before your officer can see her to take her statement. Where did you pick him up? Did you manage to get a warrant to enter his house?"

"No, because there's no official police report made. We picked him up at a café near his house; he was getting drunk at the bar. Look, there's not much for us to go on at the moment due to the lack of evidence so I can only hold him for questioning…unless we get that statement." A huge sigh could be heard on the other end of the line, and I knew that Elijah was as eager to nail that asshole as much as I did. "In the mean time, he's not talking. _At all_."

Why did that piece of news not surprise me? "Then maybe I should go down there and have a little chat with him? I might be able to get him to 'fess up and if not, then at least I'll get to look him in the eye and tell him how much I wish he'd take a long walk off a very short pier," I quipped, my hand balled up tightly at my side while imagining them wrapped around that asshole's neck.

"Damon, you can't just-"

"Great, now that _that's_ settled, I'll see you real soon!" I chimed in and disconnected the call, deliberately ignoring his protest. This was one of those times that I wished that I could divide myself into two; one to stay at the hospital to wait for Elena and the other, across town, preferably committing murder in the first degree.

Right on cue, one of the nurses, an older blonde woman who was assisting Meredith walked out through the swinging doors and headed in my direction. "Mr. Salvatore?" she inquired with a raised brow. "The patient has been asking for you repeatedly since she went in, but Dr. Fell said to tell you not to worry."

The nurse flashed me a curious look when I nodded, her eyes perusing over me openly. Was she checking me out?! "Something wrong?" I asked, about to tell her that I was already spoken for and that I preferred my women to be brunettes, stubborn, foolish, has a heart of gold, and able to stupidly forgive people who doesn't deserve it. Oh, and wide doe-eyes with great 'cunnilinguistic' skills in the kitchen.

"Dr. Fell wanted to know if you had any hair left. I'll be happy to report back that you do," she cracked a small smile as understanding dawned on me. Yup, Mer knew me all too well if she had guessed that I would be about ready to start pulling my hair out by the handful had it not been for the phone call from Elijah.

"How's Elena in there? She okay? In any pain? Are the tests done? Is everything okay? How long more will it take?" I started shooting out questions in rapid succession, eager for news, _any_ news of what's happening behind those double doors. I couldn't take not knowing for a second longer.

Taking a deep breath, the nurse answered my questions effortlessly. And in order. "She's freaking out a little but otherwise, calm. She's as okay as a situation like hers would expect. Not in pain. Rape kit done, waiting for blood work results to come back, and we've hooked her up with IV fluids and some antibiotics for the burns on her skin. Everything is going according to our standard procedure, so you don't have to worry about that. We still need to clean and dress her wounds and x-ray her hand, so it might take some time, maybe another two hours," she said, looking around her cautiously.

I realized then that she was not supposed to share all these information with me because of the doctor-patient confidentiality clause but she was probably acting on Mer's orders, making the exception for me because of my special 'relationship' with Elena and the fact that she had no other family members who could be the recipient of her updates. Care and I were the only family she had left.

"Thank you," I told her sincerely, feeling oddly touched that she would come out and put my mind at ease. If it would take two whole hours before I could see Elena, then I might as well put the waiting time to good use, like, oh, I don't know….bash someone's head in with a very blunt axe? "Can you discreetly let Dr. Fell know that I'll be at the police station and for her to call me the _second_ they're done in there? I'd like to be back in time to see Elena as soon as she's out."

"Will do, Mr. Salvatore," she agreed and then she disappeared behind the double doors again.

As for me, I had somewhere else I needed to be.

* * *

Mystic Falls was not a very big town, no matter how much the residents liked to pretend it was, judging by the number of town events held every other week. So, it wasn't surprising that it took all of ten minutes to get from point A to point B – namely, the police station. My presence there did not attract much attention, maybe because I had been a regular visitor for the past few years. No, it wasn't because I was a badass punk that had to be hauled in, but because of my line of work.

I worked alongside those officers and detectives like my buddy Elijah to make sure that other badass punks like Mason Jerkwood were brought to justice. That was probably why some of them pointed me towards one of the interrogation rooms as soon as they saw me walking through the entrance, knowing full well who I was there to see (read: kill!).

I waved at them as I passed, heading directly for the closed door. Elijah was all up in my face as soon as I entered without knocking.

"Whoa, Damon, you're not supposed to be in here!" my buddy objected, placing a warning hand on my chest as I glared down at the bored-looking man seated behind a table. I noted with satisfaction that he was alone and lawyer-less, at least for now.

"Relax, Elijah. I'm not going to do anything stupid, not in a police station! I just want to have a friendly chat, get some updates on the latest, you know?" I remarked sarcastically without removing my stoic gaze from the curly-haired soon-to-be sushi, after I chopped him up in little pieces and threw him to a school of piranhas. For a moment there, I actually felt sorry for the piranhas, having to eat pond scum like him. Maybe I should also throw in some toothpicks for them to pick the remnants between their razor sharp teeth.

"You want news, Salvatore? Did ya hear about my recent engagement?"

Elijah and I both turned towards the smirking man who couldn't help himself but to taunt me precisely where he knew it'd hurt the most. It didn't matter; at least it got him talking. Planting my hands firmly in my pockets to remove the temptation to remove his spine through his ears, I moved leisurely towards the man – no, _monster_ – who was the reason why Elena was at the hospital, getting treatment. My hatred for him increased exponentially and would forever be a part of me for as long as I lived. "Oh, that's right, I saw the ring. You _do_ have excellent taste, I'll give you that."

Elijah remained where he stood when I walked in, his body tensed and poised to intervene should I lose control of my emotions with Jerkwood. I sat down on a vacant chair opposite him, resting my ankle on the other knee as I threw him a challenging look, prompting that it was his turn for a witty comeback. He didn't disappoint.

"Thank you, but we obviously share the same exquisite tastes, especially when it comes to women, or at least one _particular_ woman. So, have you come to congratulate me on my upcoming nuptials?"

I gritted my jaw painfully at his audacity to bring up Elena at a time like this. His arrogance knew no bounds. I decided promptly to cut the crap and give it to him straight. "Are you really as heartless as you are a bastard like you seem to be right now? Elena's in a hospital right now, bleeding and traumatized because of what you did. Wasn't it enough that you physically abused her repeatedly in the past? Now you had to resort to _rape_ to get your jollies?" I bit out in disgust.

"I really don't know what you're talking about," he replied, feigning ignorance although his expression hardened at my accusations. "I never _abused_ anyone in my life. Why don't you ask Elena? I'm sure she'd be able to clarify things for you. I treat her as I would any woman I'm in a relationship with; with love and respect with a bit of kinky sex when the mood strikes."

"_Respect_? So your version of respect ends up with her covered in bruises and blood? Does it involve her being catatonic and refusing to be touched by anyone in her vicinity? Do you even _care_ about the effects it will have on her, the woman you live with, the one you proposed to and the one you supposedly love?"

I felt rather than saw Elijah moving closer to where we sat, wary of my raised voice and probably my body language, too. I was leaning forward, on the very edge of my seat, in the middle of a staring contest with someone who wasn't fit to even breathe in the oxygen around us.

A troubled expression crossed Jerkwood's features for a split second, and all it took was a single blink and it was gone. If I hadn't been watching him that closely, I would have thought that I had imagined it. "Come on, you and I both know how melodramatic girls can be! I didn't do anything to her…nothing she wasn't begging for, anyway."

I stared at him incredulously, unable to believe what I was hearing. Did he seriously expect us to believe that Elena was a willing participant in the whole thing?

"Between us men, let me just say that Elena Gilbert is one wild tigress in the sack. She _really_ loves it rough, and she's usually the one who comes up with role-playing ideas and all that. She slips into characters very well… _too_ well, in fact that I sometimes can't even tell when she's pretending and when she's not. I guess her constant moans and pleas to make her cum should provide me with some clues, huh?" he let out a hollow chuckle and it sounded like nails on a chalkboard to me. My entire body went rigid at his words, gearing up for an explosive moment I knew was inevitable.

"And you know what?" he asked, leaning forward as if he was sharing a particularly juicy secret with me. "Just this morning she was practically _begging_ to be fucked hard. So in the spirit of Christmas, who was I to deny my fiancée's request, right? I gave it to her _so_ good, she must have cummed eight, maybe nine times while screaming my name. She must have been so sore by the time I was done with her. Do you think that's why she went to see a doctor?"

I was out of my chair and flying across the table that separated us in an instant. I managed to land one well-aimed punch at his jaw before Elijah successfully pulled me off of him, kicking and yelling as I went. My heart was pounding from the adrenaline and my chest was heaving from the exertion, but I wasn't nearly done with that asshat. As long as he was still breathing, I wasn't done, not by a long shot.

"Son of a bitch!" Lockwood cursed, lifting one hand to cup his jaw. "That bastard attacked me! Did you see that?" he targeted his question to the detective who was holding me back.

Pushing me to stand behind him, Elijah straightened his jacket and regarded him levelly. "I must have blinked, so I didn't see anything. That looks like a nasty bruise; do you need some ice for that?"

I stood there, temporarily distracted as I gaped at my friend in shock because Elijah was usually a stickler for following procedures. He wouldn't let something like my flying-over-a-table-armed-with-my-right-hook go without some form of punishment. I mean, he could have read me my Miranda rights right then and stuck me in jail overnight for that stunt I just pulled.

"Where the fuck is the justice?! A detective who witnessed an unprovoked attack on a civilian does nothing and covers it up? You'll be hearing from my lawyer soon!" Lockwood yelled in frustration and I watched with smug fascination as his face started swelling, right where my knuckles connected with him. My only regret was not aiming higher and knocking him out cold.

"Justice would be when Elena gives her statement to the police and this detective here slaps a set of cuffs on your wrists before hauling you off to jail where you'll share a cell with a guy named Butch McGee who likes guys with an ass like yours. And if _that_ fails, then I will find you and I will end you by lodging a bullet so deep into that pathetic little dick of yours, the only way the coroner's gonna retrieve it is to chop it off and feed it back to you through your nostril!"

There, I think I ruled at trash talking!

Lockwood was about to object to my death threats when Elijah quickly stepped in, sensing that it was time to put a stop to my lovely visit. "It's funny, I can't hear very well either because I haven't been to a salon to get my ears cleaned in years. Say Damon, will you go with me now?" And with that, I was reluctantly pulled out of the room and into an empty office before I could even process that Elijah actually talked about getting his ear wax removed in front of a suspect.

I was shaking my head and frowning as he rounded in front of me and pinned me down with a deathly glare. I knew that face. He was not happy with me.

"What the hell were you thinking?! You risked _my_ job and the case by punching and threatening the suspect when we have _nothing_ against him? And he was unrepresented at the time, too! Damon, I allowed you to be in that room because I thought it might get him to slip up, but all you did was to build his case for him! We have no way of proving that he forced himself on Elena, not when it's _his_ words against hers right now. It's tricky trying to establish the circumstances that led to an attack on a victim, what more when the victim is his own fiancée!"

I knew that he was right, but man, was I pissed off at that monster at the time. "The things he said about Elena-" I said through clenched jaw, exhaling loudly as I paced within the small office.

"I know, and I want him to pay for it as badly as you do, but there's a system I have to follow, Damon. I'm a cop first, and a friend second in this case, and I can't allow you to get so involved in this because it's too personal for you. You're not helping Elena right now if you're going to go attacking the suspect, so why don't you go back to the hospital and be there for _her_? Let _me_ do _my_ job here, okay?" he asked, his expression one of understanding and sympathy.

"Fine," I bit out, knowing that this was out of my control for now. I wanted, _needed_ to be there for Elena when she needed me the most and I should just let Elijah handle the police side of things. _It was the most logical solution_, I convinced myself. "I'll stay out of this but I need you to keep me updated in case anything happens…_anything_ at all, even if he so much as sneezes, then I want to know about that, deal?"

"Deal," he answered, looking relieved for the first time today. I suspected that he'd be gaining a few more frown lines before this case was over. "But, Damon….you know I'm going to have no choice but to let him walk if we don't get that statement from Elena soon, right?"

I paused in the act of turning the knob at the door, a coldness settling over me at the thought of that monster coming after her, maybe even killing her this time. Turning back to address Elijah, I announced confidently, "I'll make sure that doesn't happen. She'll talk."

Little did I know that in a matter of hours, Elena would prove Elijah to be right. Soon, Mason Lockwood would be a free man again, and my fear for her safety would unexpectedly change the course of my future with the girl I loved.

* * *

**My twitter: cgsa_cher **

**A huge thank you to my awesome beta KRISTI for her dedication in being my beta, despite maybe wanting to throttle my throat for not ending the story 4 chapters ago. What can I say except "Whoops"? **

**Like it, Love it, Hate it….let me know by reviewing it! **

**Thank you for the new story alerts and for being awesome readers, basically.**


	15. Chapter 15

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: So, the last couple of chapters were major bummers, huh? Would you like that to stop now? Maybe some of you are eager for some happy time? Yes? No? **

**Yeah, not likely. On the up side, I don't mind some yelling if you wanna get your frustrations out! I'm freaky like that! **

**Also, people seem to prefer reading from Damon's POV more than Elena's. So let's start off by making most of you happy. This is how I show you guys that I care about you…before I rip your heart out and feed the pieces back to you…. xoxo**

* * *

**A Woman's Worth: Chapter FIFTEEN**

_Damon's POV_

As much as I was looking forward to checking how Elena was doing back at the hospital, hanging around at the waiting room with a bunch of idiots without something to distract me wasn't a prospect I looked forward to. I couldn't afford to be left alone with my own thoughts at the moment so I decided to make a pit stop at my new favorite drinking hole before I continued with my plans.

I found myself back on my regular barstool, with the _other_ bartender, not Donovan but the other less busybody kind. This one just poured me my order and disappeared without bothering to eavesdrop or steal my drinks from under my nose. It was a pleasant change, to be honest.

I was on my third glass when someone sank down onto the stool next to mine, and I turned to see the judgmental expression of my _other_ best friend, staring at me.

"Let me guess," I sighed, rolling my eyes as I emptied the shot glass and slammed it down onto the bar counter. "Meredith?"

"Elijah," Ric answered drily as he frowned at my row of empty glasses. "Since when did you start drinking again?"

I pretended to ponder as if it was a hard question. "Mmmmm, sometime between the party and right now," I answered in a glib manner, totally buzzed from the alcohol. It was a pleasant feeling, as if my emotions were dialed down a couple of notches. My chest didn't even feel as tight anymore.

"O..kay, how about we get back to that later? I heard about what happened to Elena this morning," he said and I immediately groaned out loud in respond.

"No, no, no! I don't want to talk about her. That's precisely why I'm taking a break from the real world, Ric! I'm here because I'm hiding, and as long as I keep drinking, I'm fine," I assured him, flashing him a lazy smile as I signaled the bartender over. I wanted to stand up and applaud when he refilled my glasses without question; he was exactly _my_ kind of bartender!

"Talk to me, Damon," my buddy urged firmly while moving all three shot glasses _away_ from me, sliding them further and further down the length of the bar until they were out of my reach. Great! Setting up an obstacle course between me and my booze made me even more desperate for a drink.

I merely shrugged, giving him a dejected sigh as I buried my head into my palms. "There's nothing to talk about. Go away, Ric. You're spoiling my happy ambience with your negative non-drinky vibes."

"Nine and a half years, man! You've been sober for this long and you're going to throw it all away because of a girl?" he asked, his voice full of disappointment. If I could see his expression, I am pretty sure I would have seen frustration in his eyes, too. "Look, I know you like her, okay, even _love_ her, but you can't control her choices. She's old enough to know better and yet she chose to go down this path, knowing very well what Lockwood is capable of."

At that statement my head snapped up to pin him down with a defensive look. "Are you saying Elena _deserved_ to be raped by that monster? That she _should_ have seen that coming?" I shook my head in anger at the thought. Yup, definitely needed that drink.

"No, _of course_ she didn't deserve that. _Nobody_ does! All I'm saying is that you can't control what happens to her, and that means that you shouldn't feel responsible for it, either."

Oh, well too fucking late for that _now_! Despite my attempts to drink half my brain cells away to avoid thinking about the sequence of events that led to what happened to Elena, I suddenly found myself letting my guard down and allowing the remorse to set in. This whole confrontation with Ric resulted in me facing my emotions whether I wanted to or not, and I was about to double over from the weight of my guilt.

"But I _am_ responsible. If I had gone after her last night instead of wallowing in my self-pity in my room for not getting the girl.…if I had stayed on her doorstep to hear her out this morning rather than letting my ego get in the way….if I had picked up her damn calls instead of being here, pouting over the fact that she was going to marry that asshole. Don't you get it? _I_ could have changed what happened. She wouldn't have had to go through the attack if I had made the right choices. I keep screwing things up, Ric. First with my mother, and now with Elena…"

I trailed off, not knowing what else to say. That tightness in my chest returned again, so I practically crawled over Ric's lap to get to my untouched drinks and managed to steal one back before he could stop me. Down the hatch it went, but this time, the euphoric feeling that usually accompanied the numbness and warm feeling from the burn of alcohol down my throat lasted all of five seconds.

"If it's guilt you're feeling about Elena's attack, then you sure as hell shouldn't be drinking knowing full well how she feels about drunks who take out their frustrations by beating women. The next time you toss that bourbon down your throat, you think about showing up in front of a bruised and battered Elena with alcohol breath. And then imagine her being afraid of you and maybe even expecting you to hit her," he said, disappointment evidently displayed in his gaze. With those highly disturbing statements, he got up and left the bar without another word, leaving me to wallow in my depressing thoughts.

I stared morosely at the remaining two shot glasses full of high-end bourbon, and discovered that I no longer had the same enthusiasm to drown myself in them as I did a few minutes ago. Damn Ric and his oh-so-wise speech!

I was fortunately drawn out of my funk when my phone rang. It was the hospital. I quickly scrambled to slide the green button to the right, and pressed the phone to my ear even as I dug out a few notes to throw at the counter before I made my way out to my car.

"Damon, you better get here now," Meredith's urgent voice came through as soon as the call connected. "Elijah sent an officer to get Elena's statement but she started freaking out the moment he entered the room. She won't calm down even though I sent the officer to wait out in the hallway. She's been calling out for you non-stop ever since."

My heart dropped instantly hearing that. I made her a promise that I'd be there waiting for her as soon as she was done with her tests, and now she was probably freaking out because I broke my promise. It was yet another thing I had failed her today. I was building some kind of track record with Elena, and not the good kind.

"I'm on my way."

* * *

_STILL Damon's POV (see how much I adore you guys? I doubled the Damon dosage!)(Oooh, say that ten times really fast! #tonguetwister)_

Following the directions of the nurse at the front counter, I managed to find the hospital room Elena was in without any problems, especially when I saw a restless cop leaning back against the wall right in front of her door. I shot him a dirty look for scaring her earlier and freaking her out but I didn't stop long enough to say anything to him. Impatiently, I burst into the room, expecting to find a hysterical Elena cowering in a corner of the room, but to my astonishment, she was lying unmoving on the hospital bed with an IV drip attached to her arm.

"Damon," Mer whispered from the other corner of the room she was standing with Blondie, both looking relieved to see me. "We need to talk," she said softly, waving me over and indicating that I should join in on their conversation out of the patient's earshot.

I nodded, and then detoured over to the bed to peer at Elena, who appeared to be sleeping soundly. From what I could see, her wounds were dressed where necessary, and her skin was less red than before. The bruises on her face, though were still pretty evident. The sight of her purple skin made me angry all over again.

"How is she? I thought she was upset at seeing Sir-Insensitive who's waiting right outside?" I asked when I finally moved over to join them, keeping my eye on the prone figure on the bed the whole time.

"I had to sedate her because her blood pressure was spiking. It's for her own good as well because she'd been obsessively scratching her arms and neck in an attempt to get 'clean', according to her. I'm sure that's just a psychological effect from what she went through this morning, but it's really not helping her skin if she continues to do that."

I relaxed a little, knowing that she was actually getting some rest even if it was due to the sedation. It would at least give her a few hours of peace that she desperately needed now. Still, I needed to know the outcome of the tests. "What did you find out from the tests? Anything that can prove that she was raped by Lockwood?" Ugh, even saying his name out loud made me want to vomit.

"There are signs of trauma to her nether regions, but there's nothing conclusive that could be admissible in court as rape. There's some tissue damage on the inside of her vagina, but they could argue that she consented to rough sex," Mer explained in her usual matter-of-fact tone, one she reserves for her professional career. Despite her manner of delivery, the insinuation that Elena would ever consent to be subjected to that kind of violence did not sit well with me.

"He also bit her on the neck and one of her nipples, but again, it could also be interpreted as a form of S & M that she was a willing participant in. The good news is, Mason didn't release inside her, so the chances of a pregnancy as a result of this is minimal," she continued without a pause. My head was swirling with the information that she had provided me with so far, that I didn't even stop to think what her last statement meant. Thankfully, Caroline was the one with the clear head this time.

"Well, if he didn't release inside her _there_, it doesn't mean that he didn't find another place as a substitute, right? Like maybe another hole, say somewhere a little further south?" Care hinted looking scared for her friend.

I had to swallow back the bile that was rising in my throat as I imagined him doing exactly what Blondie said. That wasn't something I would ever consider doing, not to someone I love. I hated the idea that Elena would be subject to that kind of torture to further compound what she already had to endure. Then I remembered the blood from the towel as I dried her off earlier.

"No, she definitely wasn't anally raped, nor did she have any trace of sperm in her mouth either," Mer hastily countered, setting Blondie and my minds at ease immediately. "Look, I'm putting her on IV fluids and some narcotics to help her manage her pain as well as dehydration, and I would advise to let her stay overnight for observation because of her unstable emotional state. I'll make sure that the nurses keep an eye on her."

Wait, did she just suggest that I leave Elena alone? For an entire night? Oh no, she didn't! "I'm _not_ leaving her, not this time," I announced adamantly to the ladies.

Apparently, Blondie had the same idea, too. "I'll stay, too. Besides, she might need someone she trusts to help her to the bathroom and stuff. Also, I'm itching to do some damage-control to her hair. I actually thought of being a hair stylist once. I bet I'd kick ass at it, too. Maybe I should change my major," she mumbled distractedly, her eyes narrowing on her friend on the bed, frowning with disapproval. Trust Caroline to find a way to distract herself from the horrors of the day.

Then, I remembered. It was still Christmas. What was supposed to be a special occasion for Elena was now forever tainted with this tragedy. How was she going to survive this day every single year, especially when she had always associated the holidays with the time she spent with her parents. _Everything was completely different now_, I thought to myself as my head shook sadly.

The good doctor left Blondie and I to our own thoughts after explaining Elena's medical condition. We took turns sitting beside the bed, alternating between holding her uninjured hand and rubbing some medicated ointment for her skin. It was a few more hours of anxious waiting before Elijah suddenly turned up, gesturing for me to join him out on the hallway.

"Hey, what's the update? Did you get him to confess?" I asked eagerly as soon as I closed the room door behind me. I didn't need to mention _his_ name for my friend to know _exactly_ who I was referring to. There really weren't that many assholes in Mystic Falls.

To my disappointment, Elijah shook his head and flashed me a sad and tired look. Uh oh! I knew that look. It was usually followed by some statement that I wasn't going to like.

"No, I didn't, and his sleazy lawyer showed up and demanded his client be released if we didn't have anything on him. Damon, I had _no_ choice but to let him walk. We've got nothing," he told me as he rubbed his face with the heel of his palms with a weary sigh. "Without Elena's statement, we can't charge him for this crime."

My shoulders sagged in defeat as I heard that. That monster was walking around freely while the woman he raped and assaulted was lying in a hospital room, needing to be sedated because of emotional stress! Where was the justice? It didn't make any sense whatsoever.

Another thought occurred to me then. Even if we couldn't formally charge him in court, surely there was something else we could do to make sure that he wouldn't go anywhere _near_ Elena. "Is there any way we can file a restraining order against him for Elena? Like maybe he can't come within twenty feet of her or something like that? Is he allowed to just _walk_ into the hospital and threaten her while the case is pending?"

"There is _no_ case, Damon," he reminded me firmly. Sometimes, I wished that he was a crooked cop and allowed me to kill the sick fucker while he turned a blind eye. Why? Why did my best friend have to be so moral?! "At least, not yet. As for the restraining order, we can't file it on her behalf. But if she's willing, she'll have to appear in court in person and attend a hearing, but Lockwood's got to be present, too. Until Elena wakes up and gives her consent, there's nothing either of us can do," he finished in a sad voice. I know that he cares for Elena too, and this was probably hard for him as well, not able to do anything legally.

I knew what I had to do in that moment. I understood that I had no control over the comings and goings of Lockwood, but I _did_ have control over where _Elena_ would be.

I turned abruptly to look for Meredith, ignoring Elijah's puzzled gaze as he wondered what I was up to. I found the good doctor with another patient, and I didn't hesitate to drag her out of her consultation room to let her in on my plan. Despite her many _many_ objections as well as unwanted professional opinion, I really couldn't allow Elena to be in a public place unprotected where anyone could just walk in and visit her. I mean, even if myself or Blondie were to remain beside her at the hospital, there was still a chance that Lockwood could visit her while one of us were in the bathroom or grabbing some food. There were too many risks, and I didn't like my odds.

I finally managed to get Mer to agree to my plan, and after making her promise to make house calls whenever she was needed, I was making my way back to Elena in a matter of minutes, accompanied by the doctor. I took care of the paperwork details while the girls got Elena ready to leave.

I rejected the nurse's offers for a wheelchair or an ambulance ride to transfer her to another location. I didn't want to wait any longer. For all I knew, Lockwood was already on the way to the hospital, maybe even with a sniper in tow to make sure that Elena didn't talk to the police to implicate him. I wouldn't put it past him to be a cold-blooded killer on top of being a rapist and a first-rate asshole.

When I reached her bedside, I proceeded to scoop her up into my arms and carried her bridal style to my car. The slight jostling action woke her up, and I watched as her eyes fluttered open as I walked through the corridors. Still in a confused daze, she looked around her surroundings before she raised her eyes to my face.

"Damon?" she called out softly, her voice weak from the effects of her medication. "Where are you taking me?"

I looked down at her and gave her a small smile, intending to comfort her, silently asking her to trust me. "I'm taking you home, Elena. You're staying with me at the Salvatore mansion, okay?"

That was it. That was all I said to her by way of explanation. It was enough, judging by the way her body relaxed into my embrace.

"Okay."

* * *

_Elena's POV_

For hours, I stared up at the ceiling of the unfamiliar room as I lay motionless on the bed, my eyes concentrating on the dark shadows while my heart thudded rapidly in my chest. Outside, the wind howled, slamming a window pane against the side of the wall of the guest room, and I lurched up in a panic, my hands covering my mouth as I let out a small scream.

Every single tiny movement or sound freaked me out now, making me jittery and stressed as sleep eluded me at a time where I needed to lose consciousness to forget about the events of the day. Then I practically jumped out of my skin when my room door burst open, revealing a bare chested Damon.

"Hey, is something wrong? I heard you scream," he asked anxiously as his gaze swept over me, flipping the light switch on before moving closer to the bed and then upon finding nothing physically wrong with me, he turned his attention momentarily around the room to make sure that nothing was amiss.

"Nothing, it was just the wind," I replied vaguely, indicating to the opened window where the curtains were billowing excessively.

He went over to said window, and pulled it closed before making sure that all the other windows were securely shut. I relaxed slightly when the sound of wind died down, bringing peace once again. He made his way back to me, seemingly oblivious to his state of semi-nakedness, or my nervous reaction to seeing him without a shirt on for the first time.

"Did you manage to get some sleep?" he asked from his standing position beside my bed, looking undecided if he should take a seat right next to me on the bed or to remain standing. He seemed to decide on the former when I shook my head in answer to his question. "Elena," he sighed. "You should try to get some rest. It's been a long and difficult day for you, and Mer's going to want my head on a platter if she knew that I'm not taking care of you like I promised."

I leaned back down onto the pillows, wincing slightly when even the softest touch of the silk sheets rubbed painfully against my sensitive skin. I froze for a moment when Damon reached out slowly to brush my jagged hair off my right shoulder, careful to avoid touching my heated skin. "Still sensitive?" he murmured, his fingers lingering in my hair.

I nodded, just once, and then he was up on his feet in the next instant. Feeling disappointed at the loss of proximity between us, I waited and watched as he rummaged through the packets of medication prescribed by the hospital. He then disappeared into the bathroom and came back with four tablets in one hand and a glass of water in the other, holding them out to me expectantly.

"Here, take these. Mer said to take these painkillers and antibiotics every six to eight hours to help you heal. They'll make you drowsy so you should be able to sleep after," he told me, dropping the tablets onto my palm.

I stared down at them, the four white circles that were exactly what I needed to bring this nightmare of a day to an end, but suddenly I realized that I didn't want to sink into oblivion. I was pretty sure that if real life didn't manage to kill me, then the nightmares would.

"I'm afraid to close my eyes," I admitted in a whisper.

There was nothing but silence for a full minute. Then he sat the glass of water on the nightstand before his warm hands closed over mine. "Elena," he sighed, "do you want to talk about it? About what happened?"

"No!" I objected in a hurry, shaking my head continuously as I brought my eyes up to meet his, silently pleading for him not to push it. I couldn't talk about it, or even allowed myself to think about it. Mentally, I packed up everything that happened in the first half of the day and sealed it shut in a titanium vault inside my head, never to be opened or spoken of again. Ever.

"Shhh," Damon whispered, moving closer to envelope me tightly, his hands wrapped around my head, pressing me against his neck while his fingers patted my hair as if I was a child that needed to be comforted. It was then that I realized that I was trembling, and weird sounds were coming out of my throat involuntarily. "I'm here, okay? Nothing's going to hurt you ever again."

My bruised cheek rubbed against the hollow of his neck as I shook my head, about to disagree, but then he suddenly thrust me away from him with an excited gleam in his eyes. "I have a present for you and a personal bodyguard in case you're worried about things that go bump in the night. If you're willing to take your medication, and get a few hours of sleep, I'll go fetch them for you, deal?"

He waited for my answer as he held out the glass of water for me to wash down the pills with, and I took it hesitantly, holding the cool glass in my hand as I struggled with indecision. On the one hand, he made me curious about the present that he mentioned, and yet I didn't want him to leave the room. For some reason, his presence calmed me down when nothing and no one else could.

He must have understood my trepidation, because he then said exactly what I needed to hear. "My room's right down the hall and it'll just take a minute. I need to get some blankets and a pillow if I'm going to stay here all night with you while you sleep, not because I think you're afraid but because _I _am…of opened windows. And woodpeckers with pink heels."

He frowned as he hastily explained that he was sticking around in my room for his own sake, but it was obvious that he wanted me to feel safe. I had to admit that I was a little confused over his woodpecker with heels statement, though. Maybe he just wasn't a very good liar.

"You-you're sleeping _here_? _With me_?" I asked in a slight panic. I didn't know how I felt about that. I trusted him and I knew that he would never do anything inappropriate, but still…..I didn't know how I felt about him being on the same bed as me.

"Yeah, if it's okay with you, I sort of have a date with that armchair over there," he said with a little head tilt, indicating a comfortable looking winged-back chair that sat in the corner of the room about ten feet from where I was.

For some unknown reason, I was surprisingly okay with that, him being in the same room with me but still a safe distance away. I gave him a relieved half-smile and obligingly swallowed the pills still in my grip, and chased them down with a sip of water. I set the glass down on the low table beside the bed and settled back on the pillows, waiting.

"Good girl," he smiled and patted my hand before telling me to wait for his return.

I took the opportunity to look around the room in the light, noticing the size and décor now that my heart wasn't gripped with fear and worry as compared to when I first entered it earlier. It wasn't modern or even very new, but it had a rather charming vibe. I could just imagine small little kids, running around the room, chasing one another on short stubby legs. In my imagination, one of the kids had thick and dark, slightly wavy hair and the other one, a smaller-sized one with dark blond straight locks. Then I realized that I was picturing a very young Damon and his younger brother Stefan as kids, before their lives got complicated and tragic.

All of a sudden, I heard the sound of pitter-pattering paws, and then a huge lump of brown fur jumped up on my bed, followed by a sharp reprimand. "Pig! Stay," the voice commanded, and miraculously, the dog obeyed its master. Pig was about to launch itself on top of me, probably to greet me with a very wet tongue bath, but hearing Damon's order, she froze and sat down on her hind legs, looking longingly at me as she huffed and whined.

Damon reappeared into the room, now wearing an unbuttoned silk pajama shirt and carrying a blanket, a pillow and a paper bag. Even though he was only gone for a minute, I still felt a rush of relief when I saw him, as if he was my personal brand of an anti-anxiety pill.

"Sorry, she was a little too excited to see you, I think. She's only trying to let you know that your presence has been missed, and maybe she thinks your face is a little too dry for her taste," he said with a chuckle as he sat down beside me once again. He cast a warning look at his pug with a firm shake of his head before turning his attention back to me. "Do you feel comfortable with her here? Or do you want me to get her off the bed?"

Right on cue, Pig released a loud whine in protest, almost as if she really understood exactly what her master or rather, her father, was saying. No, actually I think she really _did_ understand and she was making it clear that she was not happy about option number two.

"She can stay," I said reaching out with a tentative hand to stroke her soft fur, careful not to excite her too much. She released a happy and satisfied purr and sank down onto the comforter, with her belly up and her four legs up in the air as she made herself right at home beside me.

"Looks like your little _bodyguard_ is happy to hear that!" Damon announced, not looking the least bit impressed with the way his appointed guard dog was rolling around the sheets, her tongue hanging out at the side of her mouth. "Pig, you can stay on the bed but no scratching Elena, do you understand me? If she's _ouchy_, then you're _outy_, got it?" he warned her, his voice stern.

I almost laughed out loud when the pug rolled upright again and growled back at him, and then with a disgruntled sigh, turned her back to Damon and sank back down again. It was probably the dog's version of a pout, and it was damn adorable. I would have reacted more if I hadn't suddenly felt tired and I could feel my lids getting heavier. It didn't go unnoticed.

"Are the meds working?" he asked instantly. It was scary how in tuned to my emotions he was. Nothing escaped him and it would be foolish to even try to hide anything from him. I nodded wearily in answer. "Good, and the pain? Did it lessen somewhat?"

"Yeah, I can barely feel the sheets against my back now," I told him, noticing the concern in his expression. I could very well just close my eyes and fall asleep in an instant but there was something else that was holding me back. Oh yes. "Where's my present?" I mumbled with curiosity.

As soon as I asked that, a sheepish look came across Damon's features. "Oh, I feel kinda silly now, giving you something so childish, but I thought you might want him back." And with that, he pulled a fluffy and much _fatter_ Mr. Cuddles out of the paper bag, putting him gently onto my chest as if he was afraid he would break. Or maybe it was _me_ breaking that he was worried about.

My arms automatically clutched at the stuffed bear tightly, my heart swelling with gratitude that the little toy managed to survive the horrors of his past. It gave me hope that if it could survive a _decapitation_, then maybe there was hope for me after all.

"I _do_ want him back," I mumbled with a happy smile, my eyes closing of their own accord. "I'm so happy, and he's so fat now. How is he going to take a nice picture for his Match dot com profile? He needs a nice fat hippo to settle down with and bake cookies. We need to take a family photo this Halloween," I went on incoherently, not making any sense anymore with my random statements since I was so drowsy and may not even be aware of my lips moving. Through the heavy fog, I heard a low chuckle near my ear, and then a soft touch on my forehead.

"Sleep well, my princess. You'll be safe here," I heard his soft whisper right above me, and then he covered my shoulders with a soft sheet before making a motion to move away.

I was fading fast, but still managed to reach out with one hand, searching blindly for his. "Thank you," I said under my breath. I fell asleep as soon as his fingers wrapped around my outstretched hand, comforting me as I allowed myself to be pulled into the blackness of my nightmare.

* * *

_***THIS IS WHERE YOU KILL ME *BEWARE OF ACHY BREAKY HEART * IT'S BEEN NICE KNOWING YOU***_

* * *

_I woke up surrounded by a thick fog, a hard surface under me. I sat up slowly, expecting to see a dog beside me and a stuffed bear in my grip, but instead of the charming room I fell asleep in, I found myself on the ground in a cemetery._

_I got to my feet slowly, feeling like I wasn't in control of my limbs. I looked down at myself, noting my stained gown that used to be pure white but was now covered with dirt from the ground and some other darker stains. There was dirt under my finger nails and I was walking around barefoot. Out in the open grounds, the wind blew against my skin, sending chills up my spine and causing goosebumps to erupt all over me. My hair was long again, I noted, noticing how it wasn't silky and soft the way they usually were, but it was now cakey and stiff, like it was stuck together with glue and hadn't been washed in days. _

_Against my will, my feet brought me forward, as if they knew exactly where to go. Fallen leaves rustled around my legs as I walked along the path that seemed so familiar. It was when I caught sight of his back that I realized exactly where I was._

_Damon's mother's grave._

_I knew instantly that this was a dream because I could see him with _me_, or at least the other version of me that was with him on our 'date' to the cemetery a lifetime ago. I smiled as I watched from afar like an undetectable spy when I saw how close we both were that day, him opening up to me about his family's dark past and me, crying my heart out for him and his pain._

_And then there was our almost kiss. I started moving closer to the scene, watching that particular scene play out like a live show. I could see how much I wanted to just give in and seize the moment, because it was obvious from my expression that I wanted to feel his lips against mine. As I approached my dream self and Damon, a figure appeared out of the blue from behind one of the trees a few feet away from me, and I stared, horror-struck at the man who lifted an arm to throw something towards the couple, making them jerk apart. _

_The pebble! It was Mason! _

_I didn't really know if it was what happened in the real life version, but it suddenly made perfect sense. He must have followed us to the cemetery and spied on us, and then he threw that pebble to interrupt what could potentially be the most romantic and phenomenal moment in my life. And then later, after Damon had dropped me off at Care's house, Mason had arrived, with an apology and a diamond ring to boot._

_It was all planned out. The whole marriage proposal, his heartfelt apology I thought was genuine all this time….Damon was right all along. I didn't know who this man was anymore. _

_Dream Mason stepped out onto my path as I stumbled along following my epiphany, greeting me with a knowing smirk. "So now you know," he said simply as he was coming closer to stand in front of me, blocking my path. _

"_Why?" That was the loaded question of the moment. Why was he there, spying on me? Why did he propose? Why did he do what he did on Christmas morning, after I went back to him? _

"_Because I knew that I was losing you, and you know very well how much I hate to share. I wanted you all to myself, but yet, I didn't want to tie myself down to one person forever," he told me, his face still wearing that smug smirk. "I just didn't expect you to stay away for so long, and I knew that I had to do something to prove that I was different, that I was regretful. It's amazing what an apology and a rock can do to win you back. It was almost too easy."_

_Who _was_ this man? Why was he being so cruel? "Then why did you propose if you didn't want to tie yourself down? I didn't even accept it. I came back to help you, to make you a better man," I implored softly. _

"_You still don't get it, do you? It was never about you, Elena. I had competition and you were just the prize to be won for the pissing contest between your lover boy and myself. I'm not blind; I could see what's happening between you two. I just had to get to you first and ruin things for him," Mason explained, oblivious to the increasing pain I felt in my chest with every word he uttered. "I did it, I ruined you, and nobody's going to want my sloppy seconds after this. And that's exactly what you are… sloppy. There's nothing worth loving in you now, Elena." _

_I started shaking my head in disbelief, my feet taking slow steps backwards, eager to put as much distance between us as possible. That was when I bumped into a hard chest behind me. I whirled around, expecting to see another Mason behind me, but it wasn't him. It was Damon._

"_Damon," I choked out a sob, and threw myself into his arms as I buried my head into his neck. I sobbed my heart out for a few moments, and then his hands reached up and pushed me away firmly. He held me at arms' length, and leaned down to look me in the eye as tears fell from mine. _

"_It's too late, Elena," he said in a sad tone, regret evident in his voice. "You're damaged beyond repair now. Look at you; you're dirty and disgusting. How could I love someone like you?"_

_I stared at him in shock, my head reeling from the harshness of his words. It wasn't real. This was a nightmare. I knew it, I expected it. But why did it feel so damn real? "B-but Caroline said that you were in l-l-love with me, that I w-was being stupid not to see it," I stammered as sobs racked through me again. It was getting harder to breathe, like the fog was thickening around me and the heaviness in my chest was getting dangerously close to choking me to death._

"_I _was_, but that was before, when you were still pure, but now you're tainted," Damon stated emotionlessly, his expression open and genuine, as if we were discussing something as mundane as the weather. "Nobody wants a broken toy, Elena, not even the poorest child in the world. But that's what you are, broken, unlovable, worthless. Did you really expect things to remain the same between us as before? Don't kid yourself, huh? You're going to be alone forever, with no one to love. Nobody's going to love somebody else's dirty whore." _

_I didn't think that anything could top the pain I felt when Mason used and abused me, but I was so wrong. Hearing the truth leaving Damon's lips, that was pain at its most potent form. His words were like acid, eating me alive bit by bit, and I wanted to die. I wished I was already dead._

_I retreated from him, and as I backed away, Mason joined him as they both stood there watching me go further and further away. I couldn't stand seeing their faces, so I turned around and ran._

* * *

_***AM I DEAD YET? * I'M CLOSING MY EYES BECAUSE THERE'S AN ANGRY MOB IN FRONT OF ME ***_

* * *

I felt the ground beneath me started to shake as I ran out of the cemetery, and suddenly, I was no longer surrounded by a bright light and fog, but was now plunged into darkness. My lids felt heavy and I had to drag my eyes open slightly to search through the dark for a hint as to where I was. I was sitting up on something soft and warm, and I was being pulled up against something, or _someone_, causing me to struggle blindly, thinking that I was reliving my nightmare; not the one that I just got out of, but the one that happened in a bedroom I had lived in for the past two years.

"Elena, it's me, Damon! Open your eyes," a low voice called out urgently, and it was the same voice that was just telling me how broken, unlovable and worthless I was. I struggled even harder to escape but I was losing strength rapidly because I couldn't drag any air into my lungs. "My God, Elena, for Christ's sake, breathe! You're having a panic attack," he cried out in a panic.

It was the same voice, but yet it was different. It was no longer emotionless and cold, but filled with anxiety and maybe even concern. I could hear his ragged breathing, but also something else. Some_one_ else. A woman's voice, only it was as if she was choking and unable to speak. Then it hit me that it was _me_ that I heard.

"It's only a nightmare, Elena. Whatever you're experiencing right now, it's not real," his voice said in my ear, and he sounded upset, as if he was afraid. "Dammit, open your mouth and breathe or you're going to pass out on me!"

Whether it was the fear in his voice that got through to me or the fact that he cursed that alerted me that this wasn't the dream version of Damon that was holding me in his arms. I was back in the safety of his guest bedroom, on the bed with my stuffed bear left unnoticed beside me, and a dog as anxious as her master as she whined from right next to me.

I relaxed my jaw and throat, and with Damon's help, managed to pry my lips apart to suck in the oxygen I desperately needed. I was gasping as the air filled my parched lungs, and I managed to open my eyes to gaze at his achingly handsome features through a sheen of tears. It was dark in the room with the lights off but the moonlight streaming in from the windows provided me with a clear view of Damon's tortured expression as he brought his face closer before he rested his forehead on mine, his eyes closed.

We were both breathing heavily, and I was still fighting to clear the cobwebs in my hazy mind, no doubt the residual effects from the painkillers I took earlier.

"You really scared me for a moment there," he whispered, his hands tightening around me. I could feel his heart racing through his opened shirt, and I found myself desperately searching for the proof that he wasn't sharing the same sentiments as the other version of him that appeared in my nightmare.

I didn't know which one of us gasped when I brought my face even closer to his, joining our lips softly at first, and then hungrily when he crushed me to him. My arms automatically rose to circle around his neck as he released a deep groan, his own hand reaching up to cup my cheek, deepening the unexpected kiss with a head tilt.

There was a sense of relief, a release of the deep longing I had felt all this while when I was still fighting against the attraction I felt for him. Hope flared in my chest while our lips meshed together like long lost halves, never quite complete without the other. I couldn't breathe, not through my blocked nose due to all the crying I was doing while I was asleep, and I had to part my lips to gasp for breath. The moment I did, the kiss exploded.

I found myself pushing his opened shirt off his lean body, aching to feel his warmth fully against mine, hoping that it would calm my quivering body as a result of that chilling dream sequence at the cemetery. When his tongue probed past my lips and fluttered against mine, I shivered even more, gripping his shoulders for dear life from the assault on my senses. Why did I feel comforted and yet afraid at the same time? Why did I want him and yet want to reject him all at once?

I shook my head mentally, telling myself to get a grip on myself, that it was okay to feel for this sweet man who was holding onto me as if he didn't ever want to let me go, as I suspect I was also doing the same to him. I tightened my hold on him, willing him to make me forget the past twenty four hours of my life, _needing_ him to make it all better.

I pulled him closer, leaning back onto the bedcovers, and he followed me down instantly, his weight resting fully on me. I clutched onto his back just as his fingers traced down from my cheek down past my neck, brushing against the bite mark left from my earlier attack. It was a harsh reminder of what happened, that tragic event that left a permanent scar on my life, and I froze at the onslaught of vivid images that played in my head. I saw Mason above me, his callous expression when he entered me brutally, and it was as if it was happening all over again, except this time, I could feel everything I didn't allow myself to feel then.

I rejected the memories, willing myself to pull out of the past and concentrate on the present, where I was with Damon. His lips gentled on mine right when I was about to deepen it, and then it was all gone in the next instant.

He released me and pulled back abruptly, putting some distance between us. My eyes opened with difficulty to find him watching me warily, as if afraid that I would either fall apart or pull him back down again. I did neither. Instead, I focused on my breathing and then became aware that I had been sobbing the entire time we were kissing.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-we shouldn't…." he gasped and then took a steadying breath as he turned away from me, avoiding my gaze. "I can't do this, Elena. Not now, not after….I'm sorry," he repeated his apology softly even as he withdrew from me completely.

It was exactly as I feared. The pain of his rejection washed through me, sending another sharp pang into my heart that was already fractured beyond repair. This time however, it broke entirely into pieces, causing a deep ache to erupt within my hollow chest, and I released a loud whimper as tears continued to flow down my face.

"I-it's not you, it's me. I just can't let myself do anything, to have all these feelings knowing that he-that he-" he tried to explain, but I already got the memo.

"Get out," I said, my voice raw with emotion and hurt. His head snapped to me at the sound of my request, his hands reaching for me once again, but I wasn't about to let him touch me again, not now. "Please, get out and leave me alone," I told him, my voice getting stronger as I reined in my feelings. I only focused on two thoughts in my head; to get him out and to get myself cleaned up again.

Without waiting for him to respond, I grabbed his fallen shirt and scrambled out of bed, pushing him to his feet and then towards the door. Flinging the door open, I used the rest of my energy to nudge him out the door, ignoring his protests and then I threw his shirt back towards his shocked face and slammed the door shut, locking it behind me before I collapsed back against it, my chest heaving with sobs.

"Elena, please open the door," he called out through the timber panel separating us, his voice muffled. The door knob twisted a few times, and then finding that it wouldn't budge, he proceeded to knock on it, pleading as he did. "Please, let me in. We need to talk about this. I'm sorry, Elena. It's all my fault, not yours, okay? Please, don't shut me out. I really need to talk to you."

I shook my head, even though I knew he couldn't see me, and just waited until he gave up. He continued to begged for me to hear him out and I continued to ignore him, until I heard a sigh followed by silence. I crouched down onto the floor, trying to peep underneath the door to see if he was still standing outside when I heard his footsteps moving down the hall, away from my room.

Then I looked up in alarm when I heard the sound of footsteps inside with me, only to find that Pig had leaped off the bed to join me at the door to see what the fuss was about. Seeing her wide curious eyes made me feel guilty for what I had just allowed to happen, so I unlocked the door and shooed her out. Then I closed the door softly on her bewildered expression and turned the lock again. I heard her whine sadly and scratch against the closed door, but I managed to steel my resolve and headed into the bathroom for yet another shower.

All I could think of was Damon's words from that dream; I was dirty and disgusting. I was tainted and ruined. I was not worthy of being loved.

I stayed under the shower for as long as possible, until I was shivering under the freezing water when the hot water finally ran out. I must have used up an entire bar of soap, what with my obsession of being clean. As I dried myself and put on a new set of pajamas, I noticed my skin starting to be sensitive and red again.

To sleep or not to sleep, that was the question then. Reality was just as painful as the nightmares that came with sleep. Only good thing was that I could escape from the physical pain while asleep. Having made my decision, I _doubled_ the dosage of the painkillers and took out two tablets of antibiotics and swallowed them up with one mouthful of water. Then I set the medicine bottles down on the nightstand beside the bed before I climbed back under the covers and hugged Mr. Cuddles to my chest.

I heard Damon's voice from outside my door, and I hastily threw the blanket over my head, burrowing my head into the pillows and willed for sleep to come sooner since I upped the intake of the recommended dosage for the painkillers. It didn't take long for me to go under once again, this time, welcoming the change in scenery as my nightmares began anew.

* * *

**FUN FACT: I was listening to Nelly's 'Just A Dream' while writing this chapter. **

**Hats off to my very efficient beta KRISTI (tukct81) for all her invaluable help in this chapter. I suspect that she's secretly drunk when reading this chapter, as she should be.**

**Shoutout to Carol, Layla, bibi 13ca for being their helpful selves. GRATEFUL HUGS to you lot!**

**My twitter: cgsa_cher in case you want to be bored to death of my tweets. I have nothing interesting to say most of the time, but yes, do follow me on Twitter if you want to have someone to unfollow later just out of boredom. **

**Please REVIEW and tell me what you think of this chapter. Thanks so much! And I do reply to reviews personally, as opposed to having my robot version do it for me. Yay for Cheryl-bot, though. **


	16. Chapter 16

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: So…..the weather's nice, huh? *shuffles feet nervously* **

**Oh, I wanted to apologize for this chapter. There was something sinister in the air when I was writing this. Hence, the overall weirdness of this. It's practically ten thousand words of a whole lot of nothing. Whoopsie.**

**Think of this as a filler chapter, deal? HERE WE GO.**

* * *

**A Woman's Worth: Chapter SIXTEEN**

_Damon's POV_

I stood in the hallway, gripping my pajama shirt with one hand and turning the doorknob with the other. I wasn't surprised when it didn't turn all the way around, proving that Elena had, in fact, locked me out.

Shit.

"Please, let me in. We need to talk about this. I'm sorry, Elena. It's my fault, not yours, okay? Please, don't shut me out. I really need to talk to you," I called out as I rapped my knuckles on the bedroom door. "Come on, open the door please. I never meant to hurt you or push you away. You just caught me off-guard, that's all. And we both know how I turn into a blubbering idiot when I'm not thinking straight." I continued to knock, knowing that she was hovering just beyond the door, crying in earnest as I listened to her heartbreaking sobs. "Elena?"

I never meant to be the one to cause her such grief. I should be on the _other_ side of this massive three-inch cockblocker of a door, helping her to dry her tears and distract her from the pain in her life instead of being the one to further compound the ache. Knowing that she would rather be sad and alone instead of talking to me cut through my heart like a knife through butter.

Releasing a heavy sigh, I had no choice but to accept the fact that she didn't want to see me, not now anyway. I _hated_ being separated from her. I would give up everything I owned just to be by her side, holding her, comforting her while she cried in my arms. I would even willingly offer to be her punching bag if it meant that she would allow me back in.

With great reluctance, I trudged towards my own room, putting my shirt back on before I grabbed everything I needed in preparation for the long and possibly restless night ahead. Making my way back to Elena's still-closed room door, I was surprised to see my flat-faced pug, scratching at the surface, whining and begging to be let in. Funny, she reminded me of exactly what I was doing less than five minutes ago, except for the whining. Okay, maybe just a _little_ whining.

"What's the matter, Pig? Did Elena kick you out too?" I asked the sad dog and she turned her face to peer at me pathetically through her wide expressive eyes. She answered me with another small whine and resumed her attempts to scratch her way through the wood.

I knew _exactly_ how she felt. I didn't even have the heart to reprimand her for pawing at the layer of lacquer on the surface, which I spent a fortune on just last year. Keeping the mansion in tip top condition required more money than I was making, but luckily I still had my trust fund and my mother's considerable insurance payout from her death, God rest her soul.

"I know how much you want to be in there, buddy, but you may as well forget it. Neither one of us is getting through that door tonight," I warned her. "Well, at least you didn't make her upset by kissing her while thinking of your brother, huh?" I sighed again, and then belatedly realized how misleading that last statement was. But then again, who was Pig to judge me? She'd lick her own ass if she could reach it.

Dropping everything I brought with me on the floor, I propped my pillow up against the doorframe before I sat down, leaning back on it as I arranged a blanket around me. It was a chilly night, and I hadn't exactly planned on sleeping on the freezing floor throughout the night. But that was _before_ I stuck my foot in my mouth yet again. Knowing how Stefan felt about her, it was wrong to act on my feelings for her, no matter how tempted I was.

Perhaps I _shouldn't_ have rejected Elena. Hell, I shouldn't have kissed her back in the first place, but _there_ I was, completely in love with this woman I had known for only a few short months, trying to do my damndest to be there for her at the lowest point of her life. Boy was I panicking and scared out of my wits when I tried to wake her up from a vivid nightmare. I was literally afraid for her life, and when she finally opened her mouth to breathe, the relief that flooded through me was indescribable.

But then she kissed me.

And _Oh. My. God_, was it fucking fantastic! The pure joy that ran through my entire body just from the first touch of her soft lips….I didn't have the strength nor the will power to move away. In the midst of all the chaos that was our lives, for that _one_ precious moment, we were _finally_ together.

Even now, as I tried to get comfortable on the floor with one extremely chubby pug curled up under my armpit, my heart was racing as I remembered the sensations I felt when our lips met for the first time, and when our tongues tangled together.

Swapping saliva had never been more erotic. Or romantic.

All lucid thoughts flew out of my head - not that I had that many to begin with - but how does one focus on anything when you have Elena Gilbert attached to your face, pulling you on top of her as if she'd die if there was even a single millimeter separating you both?

Despite my mental cart wheels across the bedroom in celebration of our kiss, I was jolted back to reality when I felt hot tears coursing down her face, dripping past my fingers which were curled around her neck. That and the way her body suddenly stiffened under mine, her nails digging painfully into my flesh, something clicked in my head. I was overwhelmed with shame and guilt as my little brother's beaming face appeared unbidden in my mind.

There were too many reasons why I shouldn't have done what I just did, starting with the incredibly lousy timing and the knowledge that somewhere in this house, my own brother might be happily contemplating a future with the very woman whom I was holding so tenderly in my arms. Elena was the first woman Stefan had expressed an interest in, and I sure as hell won't be the one to stand in the way of him finally finding happiness with a really great girl.

I'd say party time was over and it was time to pay the piper.

It was almost comical, the way things just tend to fall apart whenever I tried to do the right thing by the people I care about. Not only was Elena not impressed by my lack of finesse when I tried to soften the blow of rejection, but apparently my ineloquent reasoning made her _really_ mad at me. My efforts to right a wrong tonight had exploded in my face and resulted in me being my dog's footstool and unwilling recipient of her drools as she snored loudly beside me for the rest of the night.

It was times like these when I wished that I had a bottle of the finest bourbon in my hand, but Ric was right earlier. If I wanted to maintain the trust between us, then I should abstain from _any_ and all alcohol for as long as she was in my life. But all of this might now be a moot point after that toe-curling but bad idea of a kiss.

A masculine throat cleared and I was snapped out of my inner musings when I turned to see Stefan coming towards me in his sweats and tee-shirt. Another stab of guilt pierced through me when I saw the look of concern on his face.

Earlier in the day, I had already filled him in with most of the sordid details and explained why we both had a new housemate. I couldn't very well bring a woman home for an indefinite period of time and hope that my sometimes obtuse brother wouldn't notice. He may have used a few too many hair products in his lifetime, but he was still a law student. Rumor has it future lawyers are supposed to be smart; something my baby bro had failed to prove just yet.

"Hey, what are you doing out here at this time of night?" he asked softly as he came to sit down next to me.

His opening question took me aback. Not that it wasn't a fair one, considering that I was camped outside a closed door as if I was a knight on sentry duty sent to protect the virtue of a royal princess. Lacking anything better to say, I started with a version of the truth.

"I couldn't sleep and I wanted to be near in case Elena needs me, so here I am," I shrugged, not quite willing to meet his eyes considering I just made out with the woman he could very well end up with. For a fleeting second, I wished that my younger brother was either gay or already in a committed relationship to his very own girl, preferably someone who _wasn't_ Elena.

Turning his green eyes towards the door, he gave a small head tilt and addressed the main reason for his little midnight stroll. "How is she doing?"

Seriously, what's with the endless stream of questions? Wasn't one enough? Now there's a follow-up question? Stefan may as well have me fill out a fucking questionnaire while he's at it!

So maybe I was in a crap-tastic mood tonight, but could you really blame me? I couldn't drink myself into oblivion for my self-inflicted guilt and neither could I get over that phenomenal kiss with Elena. _Excuse_ me if I wasn't feeling particularly chatty at the moment.

"Well, she started having nightmares about the attack, and she's afraid and distrustful of everyone around her right now, so all in all, I'd say she's still pretty traumatized."

Stefan seemed to hesitate for a moment before forging ahead with his third question of the night. "Do you think – should I go talk to her, maybe try to offer some comfort or a shoulder to cry on?"

I wanted to answer his question with a resounding, "Hell no!" and maybe ship him off to one of those secluded military boarding schools on a remote island far far away. They offer law degrees at one of those places, right?

But of course, I didn't actually suggest that. After all, he's the only family I've got left, and Elena was in short supply of people who care about her. I didn't want to deprive her of what could be the closest thing to a family she's got right now.

Besides, baby bro could very well be the lucky guy who'd get to hold her hand for all of eternity. Even so, I couldn't help but be selfish by wanting to be the one to help Elena over this bump along the road. I wanted to be her hero, her white knight, her pillar of strength especially during this very difficult time in her life. So, baby bro just had to chill for now and give me this time with her.

"We'll see how it goes after a few days, okay? Let's give her some time to adjust first, and get used to having us as her new housemates before we try anything drastic. She's not that familiar with you yet, and we don't want a repeat of her freaking out like she did when the police officer came to talk to her," I said, forcing a small smile at him as a comforting gesture.

It worked, the sucker!

Stef nodded and exhaled heavily, his features taking on his usual broody expression as he bid me goodnight and sauntered back to his bedroom in a separate wing of the mansion. Left alone once again, I dove right back into my thoughts before the interruption, wondering how exactly I would be able to stomach seeing Elena with my brother, or anyone else for that matter, after she has moved on from this ordeal.

It hasn't happened yet but my heart is already aching at the very thought. No, I couldn't let myself be distracted by what _I_ wanted, but rather, focus on what _she_ needed right now. And what she needed was a sober, alert, and focused Damon Salvatore. I couldn't let her down _now_, not after the clusterfuck I just made of her life. I owed her _that_ much.

* * *

"Damon?"

A feather light touch on my shoulder, followed by the heavenly smell of coffee wafted up – or down –to my nose as I was woken up. My semi-awake mind conjured up an image where I was lying in bed, snuggling next to a very warm and toasty Elena as she brought me my morning coffee. I smiled at the thought, repositioning my body to wrap my arm firmly around her, burrowing my head deeper in her surprisingly coarse hair, feeling them tickling and poking at my nose. My face scrunched up as I felt a sneeze coming on, and with a deafening 'Ahhhh-Chooooo,' I proceeded to wake the entire population of Mystic Falls up.

"Gesundheit," a feminine voice greeted me when I pried my bleary eyes open.

Blondie. I should have known. _Of course_ she was here…why the hell not, right? She was staring down at me with a worried look as she held out a mug as if it was a peace offering for waking me when I was having my morning cuddle with –

A hairy pug! It wasn't Elena I was snuggling against, but my bug-eyed, drooling dog who seemed annoyed at me for interrupting her snooze with my sneeze. I sat up hastily, pushing the heavy pooch away when I caught sight of Caroline who was fighting to hold back a giggle, no doubt at my expense.

"Coffee?" she offered as she gestured to the steaming cup in her hand. What's up with the one-worded conversation this morning?

But at least, she had the sense not to show up empty-handed, so I figured that I _could_ reserve my grouchy mood for my sibling. Flashing a grateful smile at her, I took the offered mug and inhaled the mouthwatering aroma, only now beginning to completely regain the full function of my brain cells.

"Holy sweet Mother of Jesus! That's some good coffee," I declared even before taking a sip of the divine liquid of wakefulness, otherwise known as black coffee. I was just about to indulge when a loud protest came from the end of the hallway.

"Wait, don't drink that!"

All three of us – Blondie, Pig and I – turned our heads to see Ric running towards us, his lips pressed into a straight line. Uh oh, whatever it was, he didn't look too happy with me, or Blondie.

Turned out, he wasn't pleased with the cup in my hand. "That cup….hand it over, slowly," he instructed with a stern look on his face. Goodness, he kind of reminded me of my old history teacher in high school, except that the old guy used to turn up drunk to class more often than not. You'd think all that alcoholic self-medicating would make him less of a grouch, wouldn't you?

Caroline and I exchanged puzzled frowns as I reluctantly relinquished my hold on my lifeline, only to watch Ric take a hard sniff near the brim of the mug and then take a small sip of the dark liquid.

"This is coffee," he announced with puckered brows, as if he expected something completely different.

"Well, Ric if you wanted coffee that badly, there's like a whole pot of it in the kitchen. You didn't have to steal Damon's," my blonde partner-in-crime reprimanded gently, knowing full well how I felt about my first cup of coffee of the day. It would be like a baby not getting his diaper changed. I would be Mr. Cranky-pants without some caffeine in my system, _especially_ if I was alcohol-free.

"Blow me," Ric commanded as he crouched down in front of me, bringing his face near to mine after setting my mug down beside me.

Whoa! Super massive invasion of personal space! And _what_?! "Ewww, no!" I declined hastily, noticing Care's horrified gasp coming from behind the sandy-haired man who used to be my buddy. My _platonic_ buddy.

To my surprise, he sniffed around my mouth area after my very vocal denial of his odd request, and then gagged slightly as he proclaimed, "Whoo, worst morning breath ever but at least you haven't been drinking. And I meant 'exhale', you moron!"

Ahh, so it was a test to see if I had succumbed to the bottle again after he had marched out of the Grille the previous day. "You should have just asked, you ninny, instead of being all up in my face _before_ I've had my coffee," I replied, taking a quick and satisfying sip of my daily dose of caffeine before it could disappear again.

_Ahhhhhh_, I sighed inwardly as my stomach warmed from the hot beverage.

"And have you lie outright to my face?" he volleyed right back without even a blink. Ouch. "Rule number one; never trust an alcoholic, especially when he just recently fell off the wagon after almost a decade of sobriety. And rule number two; always suspect that the coffee could be Irish."

_Some_ best friend he turned out to be, but he _did_ have a point, or two. Still, he should have more faith in me considering he knew what I was going through. "I'm _not_ an alcoholic; I'm just a guy who drank some alcohol, that's all. There's a difference," I insisted as he was about to argue with me. "Besides, if anything, I'm Elenaholic. It's a new kind of addiction and there are no known cures for it."

No cure, unless I died from extreme distance and time apart from the subject matter. Hey, maybe last night and this morning's crankiness were my withdrawal symptoms.

"How _is_ Elena, anyway? Did she say anything at all about the attack? Was she able to sleep at all?" Care asked after a while, looking around her in a daze as if she was only just realizing that we were all huddled around the floor near the doorway to Elena's room. "And why were you camping out here with the dog? What's going on, Damon?"

Oh goodie, _more_ questions!

"She's not dealing with it _at all_, Care. It's as if she's blocked it off mentally while somehow still feeling the emotional effects of the trauma," I started to explain, and then decided that the two people seated on the floor with me deserved nothing but the whole truth, even if it meant that my precious cup of coffee might end up overturned on my head. I took a huge gulp of my drink at the thought.

"I was with her last night, fully intending to sleep on an armchair in the room with her, but then she had a nightmare and went into a full-fledged panic attack right in front of me," I recounted in a somber tone, noting the immediate concerned looks that appeared on my friends' faces. "Oh, don't worry, because I managed to comfort her after that. But then, somehow, I mean I didn't even know how it happened, but suddenly we were-we were kind of.…smooching. I didn't mean to, but it just…happened," I finished lamely and waited nervously for the onslaught of yelling that was inevitable.

Well, there were mixed reactions, starting with Blondie's, "Aww, you guys smooched? _Finally_!"

Ric's response wasn't so cheery, however. Seriously, the guy was all doom and gloom these days. I should have a friendly chat with Mer and try to get him laid more often. "Damon, the girl just got raped by her own fiancée or boyfriend or whatever the _hell_ he was on Christmas day, and not only is she still traumatized, she's also emotionally unstable! And you thought it was a good idea to play tonsil tennis with her, as a, what? A comforting gesture?!"

Again, the dude had a point. Overall, I'd say that Ric had a pointy morning so far.

"To be fair, she kissed _me_ first. My tonsils just went along with the ride…completely unwillingly, of course, until I stopped it," I added to cover my own behind. "I may have hurt her feelings a little…sure explains why I was locked out of the room and sleeping on the floor. But if it helps, I was thinking of Stefan the _entire_ time we were kissing!"

Okay, so maybe I stretched the truth a little. I only thought of baby bro two seconds before I broke off the kiss.

The pair before me stared at me with slacked jaws at my latest disclosure and I was relieved to know that they have moved past the kiss and was now focusing on my odd fixation on my brother. "Yes, I can see how you'd think that makes it better in _no_ way at all," Ric said sarcastically with an eyeroll.

"I meant that I knew it was wrong, especially given her current condition and also how Stefan is interested in her and everything-" I started to clarify before Blondie interrupted me with a groan.

"Ugh, would you listen to yourself?" she scoffed. "Don't drag your brother into this! Stop using him and his non-feelings as an excuse not to be with her. It doesn't work that way. You can't just push her towards him in hopes of making things right again because of guilt. She needs _you_ more than anything right now and you know it!"

I could tell that Blondie meant everything she said, judging by the way she stamped her foot down and scared Pig off, causing the pug to run with her tail tucked between her legs to my room to hide.

"Yes," I agreed with a firm nod, "and I'll be there for her and make sure that she's all better before I let Stefan take over as the hero of the day." I wasn't even sure if I would be able to let her go, to be honest. The mere thought sent me past the brink of despair as I sat there swallowing my coffee as if it were a love potion that could heal the gaping hole in my chest. "Ric was right from the start; I shouldn't have let my personal feelings cloud my judgment when it comes to Elena. If I had my head screwed on straight and just did my job, then Elena wouldn't be holed up on the other side of this door, being upset with me and doing God knows what else."

As soon as the words left my mouth, all three of us stiffened and turned to face the door simultaneously. "And how long have you left her alone in there?" Ric was the first to ask the question that was nagging at us and the horrifying possibilities that came with the answer.

"Umm…," I paused, glancing at my watch. "Eight, maybe nine hours, I guess," I answered with a sickening feeling in the pit of my stomach, exchanging a quick look with Ric. No, there was no way that Elena would ever do anything stupid right? She knew better…didn't she?

Now alarmed beyond reason, we all got to our feet and started yelling Elena's name at the top of our lungs, but even after knocking on the door a bunch of times, there were no response from inside the locked room. It was almost as still as death, pardon the pun.

Fear ripped through my innards as I turned and sprinted downstairs towards the library where we kept all the spare keys, shouting for Stefan as I went. I was halfway there when I literally bumped into him, a look of panic on his face as he asked me what was wrong.

"No time to explain! Help me look for Elena's room key," I roared as I kept my pace with him right behind me. With my heart racing and the appearance of numerous disturbing scenarios in my head, I ran into the library and leapt over the railing to get to the key cabinet. My hands were shaking with fear as I rummaged through the small box, knocking keys off the pegs in my haste. "Forget it, just grab all of them and go!"

Sensing my urgency, Stefan didn't argue and collected the other keys that I missed or knocked off onto the floor, and then followed after me. We were back upstairs in record time, trying one key after another as I tried to grab a hold on my sanity. After what felt like hours, we managed to burst through the door and I was kneeling beside Elena's bed within seconds.

I shook her roughly, noting with dismay the pallor of her skin and calling out her name loudly in hopes that she would respond, or even flash me an angry glare for interrupting her sleep, but nothing. She was unresponsive. "Get Meredith here, now!" I yelled over my shoulder even as I was feeling along her wrist for her pulse. Her skin felt clammy to the touch, and she didn't appear to be breathing.

"Dammit, Elena, tell me you're not dead!" I said under my breath as I pressed down on her pulse point on her wrist, almost sagging with relief when I felt her slow pulse. She was alive, but just barely.

"Check if she's breathing," Ric spoke urgently as he held his phone to an ear, obviously repeating the doctor's instructions over the phone. "If it's slower than twelve breaths per minute, then you'll have to help her to breathe so that enough oxygen gets into her lungs. Mer's on the way."

I nodded my understanding, and leaned down closer to place my ear near her mouth and nose, timing her breath intake. It was too slow for my liking, so I quickly lifted her from the bed and then lowered her onto the floor, getting her into position. Taking a deep breath, I then lowered my mouth to cover over hers, exhaling into it and watching her chest rise from the action.

I couldn't believe that it was only nine hours prior that I had my lips on hers, albeit for a totally different reason, but now I was doing it to save her life. I repeated the rescue breathing process, all the while praying that Mer would reach here soon, or that it was all a nightmare that I would wake up from at any moment. I heard Caroline sobbing silently somewhere behind me, but I didn't spare her a glance. Not when I was so close to losing control over my fear for this girl who meant more to me than my own life.

"Care, please go downstairs to wait for Meredith to arrive. Get her up here as soon as she does," I ordered the inconsolable blonde during a brief pause as I timed Elena's breathing again. In the event of the worst possible event that could potentially unfold here, I really didn't want Caroline to witness it.

She had been there for Elena every step of the way from the start; from discovering Elena in Lockwood's house after missing her birthday party, and therefore, saving her life. Then there was that time she had refused to give up on her best friend even when it seemed as if Elena had given up on us. She also opened up her home for her to stay at when she ran away from Lockwood, and she was there yesterday when we discovered Elena in the bathroom after her ordeal.

I just _couldn't_ let Care watch in case her best friend _died_ from an overdose, because this may be something that would be too traumatizing even for the normally jovial and optimistic blonde. I knew _I_ would never recover from it.

Ric took over from me for a while, giving me time to catch my breath and watch worriedly as he kept her alive. My eyes drifted up from her prone body to search for her prescription medicine on the nightstand, but it was no longer there. I needed some answers, some clue as to what she had done to her body that she was now fighting for her life. She could have just as easily slit her wrists with that razor blade she'd been holding back at Lockwood's house immediately following her incident, but she didn't. What could possibly be worse _now_ that made her decide to take her own life?

I found the missing bottle of painkillers hidden underneath her pillows on the bed. There were considerably less pills than before when I was forcibly ejected from her room last night, but there were still more than half a bottle left. That meant that as long as Meredith arrived with an antidote, Elena might have a fighting chance of surviving. Brushing Ric aside as I took my place beside Elena once again, I continued to do what I could and breathed life into the girl I love.

There was still hope, and I clung to that slim chance with everything I had left.

* * *

_General POV_

Caroline Forbes was a pragmatic person. She believed in the immediate cause and effect of things like how one person's action would directly result in a reaction from another, and then a ripple effect would occur, affecting everyone within range. She was also a practical person, and therefore didn't like to waste time beating about a bush when getting straight to the point seemed to be the fastest way to get the message across with little to no chance of a misunderstanding occurring.

Such was her philosophy in life at that moment when she hurried downstairs to wait for the doctor's arrival to save her friend. As luck would have it, Stefan was trailing behind her with a pale face, looking lost and fearful as he processed the severity of the situation upstairs.

"That-that was surreal and-and-and scary," he exclaimed with bewilderment as he went to stand beside his new friend. In his life, he had never been more afraid than when he was a young boy, left alone in the house after witnessing his mother taking a deadly tumble down the stairs. What just happened upstairs was a close second to that unforgettable experience. "When Damon brought Elena home yesterday and told me what happened, I expected that it might take some time before she recovered, but I didn't even think about whether she might fall apart completely, not to the extent of attempting suicide."

Caroline shook her head firmly as she gazed out the window, on the lookout for Dr. Fell's car. "The Elena _I_ know would never do that. She would never do anything that drastic, no matter what catastrophe befalls her, and trust me on this; she has been through_ a lot_. She's the strongest person I know and it is because of that stubborn strength of hers that I know that she wouldn't do this to herself."

She seemed so sure of her statement but Stefan was inclined to disagree. "But she's been raped by a guy she's known for years. Sometimes, people do unexpected things because they just can't deal with reality, you know?"

"Yes, and she had every opportunity to do that when she was left alone at the house after the attack," Caroline countered before taking a deep shuddering breath to steady herself. "Instead, she just chopped off her hair with a razor. I don't think that Elena meant to do this, to commit suicide. She's upset, even _more_ than before. I-I think she's heartbroken."

Stefan looked confused at the idea, a frown marring his forehead. "Because of…her hair?"

"No, you idiot!" the blonde burst out in frustration as she rounded to face him, angry tears leaking from her eyes. "Seriously, what kind of a lawyer are you going to be if you don't even notice the truth right in front of you?! What do they even teach you in that college of yours? Do you walk around the house with blinders on or something?"

Taken aback at the ferocity in which she was glaring at him, Stefan took a quick step backwards, mentally scolding himself for not staying upstairs with the rescue duo instead. "Look, I know you're upset and worried out of your mind about Elena, but I really don't know what you're talking abo-"

"I'm talking about two people who are _beyond_ in love with one another, but for some stupid, selfless and insane reason, they choose not to tell each other. Instead, one went back to her abusive boyfriend and got raped, while the other decided to drown himself in bourbon _while_ the rape was unknowingly going on! And then later, while she was kissing him - maybe in search for comfort - he thought it would be a good idea to reject her because he thinks _he's_ not good enough for her! Instead, the bourbon-drinking guy decides that his little brother deserves her instead, even if the brother has only known the girl for a day. _One_ freaking day!" And so began the rant that would change the course of the future. Caroline's chest was heaving by the time she was done purging all her inner frustrations out at the situation.

The younger Salvatore blinked and stared at the girl in front of him as he mulled over everything that was disclosed, and then a look of understanding dawned on his face. "My brother and Elena are in love? With each other?" he clarified, appearing to be in deep thought. Mentally, he was going over the hours before the Christmas Eve party, recalling every single interaction between the two and his own conversation with Elena in his room. "Wait, didn't Damon quit drinking a while ago? When did he start drinking again?"

"The night of the party," Caroline answered dully, apparently having lost all the fight within her after that angry outburst. But somehow, she had room for one more snarky comment. "Or otherwise known as 'the-night-you've-royally-screwed-up-by-putting-tw o-and-two-together-and-getting-zero'. Do you even realize what you did when you 'assumed' that Damon and I were in a relationship and told Elena about it? And then, as a result of that assumption, you unintentionally made Elena rethink her entire decision about staying away from Mason _Rapewood_, causing her to go back to him and in turn, caused Damon to reunite with the bottle? The very _same_ night you told him you were interested in Elena, aka the love of his life?"

Shame flashed across Stefan's features as he thought back to the night in question, remembering how happy he was as he danced with Elena and the relief he felt for reconnecting with his brother after years of harboring a grudge at Damon for their past. He also shared a connection with Elena, some kind of bond that he'd never felt with another girl before, and it made him delirious with joy to finally find someone that had that effect on him. He had no idea how Damon felt then, but now that the truth was laid bare by Caroline, he wondered how things got so out of hand.

"So, Damon's throwing away everything he's ever worked for, for Elena?"

To his surprise, Caroline shook her head mournfully. "No, he's throwing it all away for _you_, because he loves you and wants you to be happy, even if it comes at his own expense. He knows that you're interested in her, so he's taking himself out of the equation, never mind his own pain." Tears gathered in her eyes again as she turned her attention back to the window just as Meredith's car was pulling up into the driveway.

"I don't think even _he _knows how Elena feels about him. Hell, neither does Elena, for that matter. That girl's buried so deep in denial that she allowed herself to get beaten and attacked for it. What I _do_ know is that she needs him more than she's ever needed anyone, especially now. If-I mean _when_ she gets out of this alive, she can't afford to fall apart again. And neither can he."

With that final statement, she left Stefan's side without another word and hurried outside to meet the doctor.

* * *

_Damon's POV (Oh, how I've missed you, Damon!)_

I could only watch helplessly from the sidelines as Meredith and the two EMTs accompanying her worked on Elena. For the last fifteen minutes, Ric and I were taking turns, helping Elena breathe and keeping her oxygen levels up. She never regained consciousness, but at the same time, I was just grateful that her condition didn't worsen any further. As soon as Mer arrived, I quickly moved out of the way and allowed her to do her job.

As soon as she injected a dose of Narcan - an antidote to the narcotics currently in Elena's system, I held my breath fearfully, feeling the pinch in my chest as I waited for a sign of it working. The next few minutes were the longest I ever felt in my life. It usually takes two to three minutes for the medicine to start working, and I could only wait patiently as one of the EMTs resumed breathing into her mouth.

I didn't notice until then that Caroline and Stefan were both watching from the edge of the room, standing just next to the opened doorway. As the seconds ticked by, more and more tears were flowing freely from the red-nosed blonde and I was on the verge of falling to my knees and praying to the almighty God for some divine intervention, even if I had to offer a trade of my own life for hers.

As the three-minute mark passed without any change in her condition, I saw Meredith shooting Ric a look of frustrated desperation before her tortured eyes landed on mine and then flitting away quickly. I saw despair and a silent apology in that split second and it was enough to wrench an agonizing moan from deep within me. I fell to the floor in a defenseless heap right where I was standing, and shook away Ric's attempts to pull me back up again, my eyes focused on Elena's pale face.

Another injection went into her, but the hope inside me was fading fast. The more time passed without her opening her eyes, the colder I felt. Against my will, I slowly crawled over to where she was lying, never taking my eyes off of her still form. I was unaware that I was shaking, not even noticing my own shoulders wrecked with violent sobs. All I knew was that I was losing her, that despite everything I had done to try to help her, I still failed to save her from this fate.

I reached out a trembling hand to smooth an errant hair off her forehead and it was precisely at that moment when my skin touched hers that she suddenly gasped for air and struggled wildly against Meredith and the medical officer who was in the midst of giving her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

"No! Leave me alone!" Elena shouted, trying valiantly to push all three of us away from her.

Weak with relief at seeing her alive, breathing and talking, I tried to calm her down by holding her hands, and calling her name. "Elena. Elena, it's okay. You're okay now-"

"Don't _you_ touch me. I can't stand it!" she bit out angrily at me, taking me by surprise at the bitterness in her voice. I sat there on the floor, stunned until Meredith started barking orders.

"She's getting withdrawal symptoms. Ric, I need some space. I have to make sure that she won't have a relapse once the effects of Narcan wear off. You," she snapped her head towards one of her two assistants, "get me her BP reading, now."

Still caught in a mixed state of confusion and relief, I felt Ric's arms wrapping around my torso, and then I was suddenly up on my feet and being led out of the room. The thought of putting up a fight to stay behind did cross my mind, but somehow my body wasn't cooperating. Before I knew it, I was seated on my own bed with my buddy next to me, peering at me with his 'I'm-sorry' look. It was weird how similar it was to his 'I'm-buzzed' look.

"Don't take it personally, Damon. It was her withdrawal talking, not her. She would never say that to you under normal circumstances. I mean, she _did_ almost die," he said in an effort to console my devastated heart. It worked…for like half a second.

"Yeah, I know very well what happened. I was there the entire time, remember?"

It was _my_ turn to be bitter, what with my emotions being dragged from one spectrum to the other and then to be practically yelled at and told that the woman I'd die for couldn't even stand to be touched by me. But I didn't blame her, not at all. I deserved every bit of her anger. I was the one who drove her to overdosing in the first place. "I'm fine, Ric. I'm just going to take a shower," I told him dismissively and he knew me well enough not to press the issue further.

With a nod, he left me alone, knowing that I needed some space to myself. Apparently my best friend knew me better than my own brother, because just as I was about to go into a full-blown pout, Stefan appeared on my doorway, hesitating slightly before he knocked on the doorframe.

I shook my head wearily and rubbed my palms over my face with a sigh. "Not now, Stef. I could use a long shower after the morning I've had."

"Yeah, well," he paused, appearing undecided if he should go or stay. "I just wanted to say that I'm sorry….for what happened to Elena. I know it was hard to see her like that earlier. I'll leave you alone now," he muttered before he turned tail, closing the door softly behind him.

Now that I was finally alone with no other distracting thoughts, I allowed myself to fully feel the events of the morning, my mind replaying the entire scene in my head, starting from the time the door opened into the guest room and seeing the motionless Elena on the bed. I didn't realize it at the time, but I had started mourning my loss around the time that I sent Caroline downstairs to wait for Meredith. Physically, I was doing everything I could to save her, but deep, _deep_ down, I was already imagining a future without her in it, and it seemed as bleak as it was empty.

Now that she was awake and most importantly, _alive_, I really didn't know how I ever thought that I could let her go and watch her be happy with anyone else, least of all my own brother. It seemed unfair and sad, that after all the trials and tribulations that we've both been through, we'd both still end up right back at square one.

The simple truth of the matter was that I was afraid. I was scared to lose her, but I was even more scared to want her. What if after everything, I still end up losing her again, not because of Lockwood or my brother, or for any other reason but my own doing? What if I lose her because I'm _me_, the brother who screws everything up with a single touch?

I sank backwards onto my cool sheets and let my eyes closed, repeating the words she had screamed at me, over and over again.

"_Don't you touch me. I can't stand it!"_

Maybe Elena was right. Maybe I should just stay away from her from now on and let Ric help her instead. Having made my decision, I pulled myself up and walked into my bathroom with a heavy heart, not knowing what the rest of the day would bring me.

* * *

_***LAST SCENE, I PROMISE ***_

* * *

I _tried_ to stay away. Really, I did. The best laid plans are only as good as the one carrying them out, and since it's well, _me_, I just royally suck at all things Elena. I couldn't even stay away from her for her own good without screwing it up!

After a long shower and finishing up my daily ritual of making myself as presentable as possible, my feet automatically carried me to the room beside my own, only to walk in on Blondie sitting next to Elena on the bed with a pair of scissors in her hands.

She was giving a suicidal girl a haircut with a sharp pointy object mere inches from her face?! Good thing I walked in when I did.

The tiny brunette stiffened when she saw me approaching, alerting the blonde to turn around while holding a lock of brown hair in the other hand. "Oh hey, Damon," she greeted with a fake cheerful smile on her face. Underneath all that positivity was a girl who was scared shitless for what almost happened to her best friend.

"Doc asked me to make sure that Ms. Sleepy Sleeperson over here doesn't fall asleep again and to keep her talking. But now that _you're_ here, you can keep her company. Umm, I just remembered that I had a..ahh…a thing to get to. At home. With my mom. We had a thing. Together," she finished lamely, not quite willing to make eye contact now that she was blatantly lying. "Umm, okay I'm gonna go, and you two carry on talking. I'm glad you're awake now, Elena," she said, reaching down to give her friend a parting hug before she gave me a little wave and left.

And now that I was alone with her, I didn't know what to say. So I just stood there, bouncing awkwardly on the balls of my feet, waiting.

Right on cue, Blondie poked her head back in again and solved my problem for me. "You're not talking! You two are in direct violation of the doctor's orders, ya know? I was about to start yawning outside from all the non-talking. Hey, maybe you can start off by addressing the elephant in the room, like that kiss you two shared, huh? Yeah, talk about _that_!"

Before I could even hiss at her to shut the hell up, Caroline made her disappearance once again, leaving behind a trail of destruction like the hurricane she was. I could only stare at Elena in horror while racking my brain for an appropriate response to that highly controversial subject.

But why was it, though? Would it do both of us any good if we pretended like it never happened? Should we add that to the list of things we were not allowed to talk about, like the very real sexual assault that she experienced yesterday? Maybe it was time to face the music and let the truth set us free.

That, or let the truth turn us into awkward morons who let the silence to drag on for far too long.

"Caroline's right, I think. We _should_ talk about the kiss and everything else that happened since then," I blurted in a rush. There, it was out now. The massive elephant was in the room with us and its presence was too substantial to be ignored now.

"There's nothing to talk about. It's over, done with," Elena replied with a non-committal shrug.

I forgot who I was dealing with; Elena Gilbert was the queen of denial. Time for Plan B. "Stop doing that! Stop sweeping everything under the rug and pretend that things didn't happen because you don't want to deal with them. You did that with Mason, and look where it got you! You can't go through life with your head buried in the sand, Elena. The problems don't go away just because you choose to ignore them," I preached, moving closer to her as I surged on. "We _kissed_, Elena, and it was amazing and-and frankly, scary and confusing as hell but you have to know that it wasn't the right _time_ for that to happen."

The problem with Plan B was that it required some hard-hitting truths that might end up with her being mad at me, and so far, _that_ part of the plan was working perfectly.

"So you think that my kissing you is a _problem_, is that it?" she retorted angrily, her body in a defensive pose as she geared up for a fight. "I'm sorry that it's far beneath you to even _consider_ kissing someone as damaged as I am, right? Oh wait, let me see if I remember correctly what you said before. Oh that's right, I'm dirty…and disgusting. I'm worthless, unlovable and broken."

I was shocked speechless at the words spewing from her lips, and could only watch motionlessly when two fat tears escaped from her eyes. "I'll be forever alone with no one to love, right? And what was that last one that you said? Oh yeah, nobody's going to love someone else's dirty…whore." Her voice broke at the last word, ending with a pain-filled whisper.

Did she really mean what she was saying? And for the record, I never uttered those words in my life! But If I didn't say them, then who-

"Did he-did Mason call you all those things when he-when he attacked you?"

A distraught whimper escaped from her in response to my question, and then she lifted her head up and brushed her tears away angrily. "No, _you_ did. You said all those things to me at the cemetery, and you were standing next to Mason after he threw that pebble at us, and then I ran away into the fog and that's when I-" she stopped suddenly, her expression one of realization.

"When you woke up?"I finished for her. Now it made sense. "Was that the nightmare you were having last night? Because I can assure you, Elena, that I would _never_ say those words to you, ever. It was just a dream, okay?"

I felt bad for her that she would so willingly believe everything that nightmare version of me said. It only proved how deeply insecure she was and how much Lockwood had messed with her self-confidence if her subconscious manifested itself in such a manner. She obviously took all of it to heart, too. No wonder she woke up with a panic attack.

However, it proved to be a challenge to convince Elena that it wasn't real. "You might not say the words out loud, but you were obviously thinking them. Why else would you have rejected me last night?"

At this point, I was about to tear my hair out with frustration. I wanted to shake her until the truth finally set in that she meant more to me than she realized. But how could I make that kind of declaration when I had _just_ pointed out about the crappy timing? And what about Stefan? Could I afford to be selfish and ignore what he wanted?

In the battle of Stefan versus Elena, I had to choose the latter, at least at this moment. Distancing myself from Elena wasn't an option anymore, not when she was so eager to believe the worst of herself. In order to rebuild her confidence, I had to sacrifice my own pride and let her know exactly how much she meant to me and to the people around her.

"Come with me, Elena. I have something to show you," I said firmly, giving her no chance to argue as I pulled her from the bed and half-carried her to a large standing mirror next to the wardrobe. I stood behind her and forced her to face her own reflection as my hands held her in place. "Look at yourself in that mirror and tell me what you see."

She struggled against my grip, refusing to even lift up her head as she shook her head repeatedly. "No! What are you doing? Let go of me! You're hurting me!" she whimpered.

"I'm not hurting you any more than you're hurting yourself. And don't ask me to let you go, because I can't. God knows I've _tried_, many times, but I just can't," I admitted in a low, anguished voice, making it clear that I didn't mean it in a physical sense. She must have heard me because she had stopped trying to get away.

"Please, tell me what you see when you look into that mirror," I repeated, my voice gentling into a coax.

Elena finally raised her head to peer into the reflective glass, and then she broke down completely in my arms. "I see no one. I see a weakling, an orphan with nothing to live for, no one to be with. I see a failure, a waste of space. I'm a disappointment, Damon. It doesn't matter anymore because the two people who ever loved me are now dead. Nothing matters; _I _don't matter," came her distraught admission.

"That's not true because you matter to _me_," I declared passionately, noting how her eyes met mine in the reflection as she stared at me in disbelief. "To your best friend Caroline and some of the others, you're _not_ nothing. In fact, to _some_ of us, you're absolutely everything. You should have seen the worry and panic on everyone's faces in this house when we thought we had lost you. The idea that you'd attempt suicide because you'd rather die than to live and fight was the worst feeling in the world, Elena.

"You don't know how loved you are, do you? You may have lost your parents, but all of us, _we're_ your family now. If you had died just now, I have no doubt that each and every one of us would have gone after Lockwood and killed him with our bare hands. Even Elijah, and we all know he's such a stickler for procedure and doing everything legally. Even _he_ would have avenged your death on Mason for everything he put you through, especially for raping you," I finished emphatically in an attempt to force her to address that other issue as long as we were making so much progress.

She didn't approve. Her struggles renewed with vigor and this time, she managed to break free long enough to sink down onto the floor and covered her ears with her hands. "No! Don't use that word! I don't want to hear it," she moaned, rocking back and forth as she buried her head in her knees.

Once again, with the denial. If she were to fully heal from this, she just had to face facts. "Not saying the word out loud doesn't make it any less true, Elena. It happened, whether you want to admit it or not. You can't spend the rest of your life avoiding the truth, or let Mason get away with this. I know it's hard for you, and I don't mean to push you but it is what it is," I pressed on, crouching low beside her to raise her chin. "Listen to me, okay. You'll survive this, I know you will. And it's not just you, but me too. We're in this together, right? All you need to do now is to admit it, and the rest will be easier, I promise."

With a sob, she shook her head again, this time, raising her tear-filled eyes to gaze at me directly. "I _can't_ admit that, because that would make him a r-rapist. And if he is one, then what does that make _me_? A _victim_?" Her expression seemed to be horror-filled at the thought. "I don't want to be a victim for the rest of my life, Damon. I can't. And I'm not suicidal, either. I-I don't want to die, not like this."

I was amazed, hearing that from her. I didn't expect the direction our entire confrontation had turned to, but I was glad that yet another pressing issue had been brought up. "So you _weren't_ trying to go in your sleep? It was an accidental overdose?"

"I was just trying to sleep because I was in pain; from the bruises and also your rejection. I thought that everything you said in the dream was real and that was why you pushed me away," she admitted quietly, and then hastily continued when she saw that I was about to argue about the forbidden kiss again. "So I took more than I should, and when I woke up in the middle of the night, I took some more. I just wanted to sleep so that I could forget that yesterday ever happened. I never expected that I might never wake up again."

Well, at least that took a load off my shoulders. Knowing that even in her darkest hours, she wouldn't have made the choice to end her life was a comforting thought. Still, it didn't mean that she shouldn't be put under surveillance 24-7 just because she didn't commit suicide. She was a danger magnet, though the threat came mostly from a psycho ex-boyfriend and in the form of a few unsuspecting pills. Despite what happened between us the previous night, I still had to assure her that I would be there for her if she needed me, that she could trust me.

"Well, I'm glad that you're awake and alive, Elena. And please know that I would never think those negative thoughts about you, no matter what. And because I don't want you to crawl into a hole and stay there for the rest of your life, I want you to promise me one thing, and in return I'll make you a promise of my own," I offered, seeing her natural curiosity taking over her previously woebegone expression.

"In exchange for your effort to try to talk about what happened back at the house yesterday and admitting the truth to yourself, I will make you a solemn vow. I'll stay away from alcohol from this moment onwards if you'll just promise to try."

I waited expectantly while she considered my deal, blinking her wide and scared doe eyes at me. I figured that the most important part of her recovery so far was about her ability to accept that she was sexually abused by Mason Lockwood. The other issues like our shared kiss and lack of confidence were secondary in importance. As long as she was willing to accept reality, she'd get angry enough to fight back.

My focus at this moment was to send that bastard to jail. As long as he was behind bars and doing time for his crimes, Elena was safe from him. That's _all_ I wanted right now.

"I'll agree to that deal, but I just have this one question. What started this downward spiral? What could be so terrible that it would make you throw away years of sobriety?"

Oh, holy crap.

I just dug myself out of one hole only to fall face-first into yet another. Great, as if I wanted to spend the next hour talking about how much of a weakling I was for finding comfort in a bottle as soon as she went back to Mason.

Mister Foot, meet Mister Mouth. You two would be hanging around each other pretty frequently from now on.

* * *

**Do you know my beta KRISTI (tukct81)? She's an extremely kind person for putting up with me through all this angst. She saved this chapter from the initial clusferfuck it was. She has also written a bunch of amazing DE stories. Check them out!**

**Major thank you to my medical advisor, Carol (scarlett2112) for her invaluable help on all things..umm…medical. YOU ROCK, girl! That's right! I called you girl! :D**

**Thanks also to my pre-reader Kim and for her advice regarding the ending of this chapter! From now on, you are my pompom girl!**

**My twitter: cgsa_cher in case you want to threaten me through another channel. **

**READ and REVIEW if you want happy times ahead. THANK YOU KINDLY! I'll do better in the next chapter, I promise! **


	17. Chapter 17

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: *takes a deep breath* SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPIALID OCIOUS!**

**Sorry, but I just watched Mary Poppins and this song has been in my head all night. **

**Also, guess _what_?! A Woman's Worth has been nominated for the Energize W.I.P. Award under the category of 'Most Promising Vampire Diaries FanFiction'! The first time this happened to me was for my previous story 'Separate Beds' and now this one too! **

**Okay, now's the time to 'fess up….which one of you did it? Was it YOU? *narrowing eyes on the girl reading this on your phone* Or was it YOU? *shifting eyes to the one sitting in front of the laptop*. Come on, don't be shy, you know you can tell me right? I mean I appreciate the gesture and I wanted to thank you personally. **

**The voting will start from 13****th**** March until 20****th**** March 2013 and can be done here: **www*energizewipawards*blogspot*com (replace the * with .)

**Feel free to vote for any of the nominees on the website if you are so inclined. *grins* Thanks!**

* * *

***SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPIALID OCIOUS ****SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPIALID OCIOUS***

* * *

**A Woman's Worth: Chapter SEVENTEEN**

_Elena's POV (26__th__ December 2012)_

"What started this downward spiral? What could be so terrible that it would make you throw away years of sobriety?"

Following my questions, I watched a myriad of emotions appear on Damon's features, ranging from nervousness to an obvious 'oh crap!' reaction. I could practically hear his mind whirring overtime as he struggled to come up with a satisfying response.

The truth was, courtesy of Caroline, I already knew the answer. And according to her, the reason Damon rediscovered his love for all things bronze-colored and alcoholic was because of me. _I_ had driven him to it, me and my crappy decision-making skills.

After what must have been a really lengthy silence, the raven-haired man finally spoke. "I saw you and my brother dancing during the party."

"Huh?" His answer was the last thing I expected to hear. Well, it came _way_ out of left field!

"Stefan _doesn't_ dance," he clarified with a shrug, "and there's a good reason for that. I mean, seeing him bust a move on the dance floor was enough to drive _any_ man to break open his carefully concealed bourbon collection."

So he had resorted to using the typical evasion technique. I thought only _I_ was allowed to pull that stunt when it came to avoiding tough questions.

"You're deflecting, but maybe that's because you don't want to hurt my feelings. I know that it's _my_ fault that drove you to drink again, and I've disappointed you. I let you, Care and everyone else down when I went back to Mas- to _him_, but I don't know how to make things right again. Every single thing in my life that's wrong and now yours too… they are all because of _me_," I lamented as I turned back to gaze at my reflection on the mirror once again, hating everything that I saw there. My drastic mood change had begun even before I finished my tirade.

"No, I'm pretty sure it's still _Stefan's_ fault for having two left feet and ruining a perfectly good party," he replied in a lame attempt to lighten the mood, but I was spiraling fast into depths of despair that I didn't manage to stifle the choking sob that escaped. My emotions were all over the place today, but the darkness that was hovering at the edge of my mind won this time.

With a heavy sigh, Damon sat down beside me and pulled me sideways to cradle my face into the crook of his arms, his fingers caressing my cheek softly as I finally allowed the sorrow of the previous day to wash over me. I cried for the girl I used to be, the hope I had lost, the man I used to love, for the future I no longer have, for being a major disappointment to my parents and the people who cared about me, and also for the man I had grown to love but I didn't deserve to have. Mostly, I cried for the hurt I had caused him.

"That's it, Elena. Let it all out," he coaxed gently, his voice sounding congested. It seemed like he could sense how close I was to completely breaking apart when his arms tightened around me almost possessively, as if he could absorb all the pain onto himself if he held me close enough. Strangely though, it seemed to be working because after a short while, my tears seemed to lessen and my hiccups only occurred sporadically.

I felt a pair of soft lips pressing against the top of my forehead, and I pulled back in time to see Damon's eyes squeezed tightly shut with a tortured expression on his face. I also noticed that his own cheeks were wet with _his_ own tears, making my heart somersault in my chest as I wondered what I had done again this time.

"Damon?" I whispered, his eyes opening at the sound of my voice. "I know why _I'm_ a mess but why are _you_ crying?"

His Adam's apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed, his shimmering oceanic eyes roving over my upturned face. "Because you're hurting, and I-I don't know what to do."

I stared at him through my tears in amazement, marveling at his response and the way he made me feel inside. Knowing that in this dark, gloomy world that I live in, there was this _one_ beautiful man with an equally beautiful soul who seemed as lost as I was, but was _here_ now, comforting me, healing my heart one fissure at a time.

"You have to stop punishing yourself for things beyond your control, Elena. What happened wasn't your fault; not the attack, not my drinking. _We_ made our own crappy, twisted choices, so you don't get to claim credit for them. I mean, was I disappointed when you left the party to go back to him? Frankly, yeah I was, but it was because I couldn't get through to you, that I failed to make you see what a monster he is," he finished with a shake of his head.

With renewed resolve, he propped me up and held both my shoulders at arms' length, looking at me squarely in the eyes. "Okay, you know what we should do?"

His question threw me off for a moment, stunned at the abrupt change of mood. Giving myself a mental shake to get a grip on myself, I ventured a guess at an answer, having had enough of crying for one day. "Grab some tissues and wipe our faces?"

He flashed me a sheepish smile, quickly wiping his face with his sleeves before swiping his thumbs under my red-rimmed eyes. "Sorry, I'm not normally such a wuss on a regular day. I blame my PMS, or Caroline's because she's acting really hormonal today," he said, sending me a teasing look that made me return his smile.

It was a miracle, how I went from almost dying of an accidental overdose, to waking up really cranky and panicky, to bawling my eyes out and now to smiling like an idiot at the only man who seemed to be able to lift my spirits at times like these. It was downright scary how much of an influence he had over me.

"I'm sorry I made you cry," I mumbled as I reached up one hand to cup his cheek. His skin warmed under my touch and then his hand covered over mine to hold it in place.

"That's okay. It was about time my tear ducts got some exercise, anyway. But if anybody asks, I'm going to deny it and say that you attacked me by pouring shampoo into my eyes, got it?"

Once again, I found my lips curving into a smile as I nodded, relieved that his infectious good humor had made a comeback. Unfortunately, I had more apologies to dish out.

"I'm sorry I scared you with the whole almost dying thing," I mumbled again, and this time, his expression turned serious as a frown appeared on his forehead.

"Yeah, you _should_ be. I never want to live through another moment like that ever again," he said, fear written on his handsome features. "I already lost someone once, I-I can't bear to lose you, too."

Hearing Damon's confession, I couldn't bring myself to respond other than to duck and bury my head in his chest as I hugged him tightly, hearing his heartbeat thudding against my ear. I didn't tell him, but I felt the _exact_ same way about him. I didn't have anybody left, only him, my best friend, and the people that make up the rest of our makeshift little family. I really didn't want to do anything that might jeopardize what I had now, and what I stood to lose.

"I'm sorry I kissed you," I whispered into his shirt, feeling shame creeping up to heat my face. A part of me hoped that he didn't catch my muffled words, because I really didn't want to open that can of worms so soon after our confrontation earlier, but then again, I had to apologize for launching myself at him inappropriately.

"I'm not," he replied after a long while, causing me to lift my head up to gape at him. He sounded like he meant it, too.

Just as I was about to open my mouth to respond, there was a knock on the door, and then Meredith's head poked in, her eyes taking in our embracing position on the floor. Damon and I exchanged a guilty look and then quickly broke apart just as she started making her way towards us.

"Elena? I need to check to see if the medicine has left your sys-" she paused suddenly when she got a good look at my face. She immediately turned to glare at the man who was helping me up to my feet, smacking him at the back of his head. "Damon! Why is Elena crying? You shouldn't make her upset right now, not after what happened this morning!" the doctor reprimanded with a stern frown as she continued to give him the evil eye while she guided me back towards the bed.

"Firstly, owww," he whined, rubbing the side of his head where her palm connected, and then jutting his lower lip in an adorable pout. "Secondly, umm…we were…playing with shampoo," he finished in a rush before winking conspiratorially at me, grinning broadly behind Meredith's back.

I found myself nodding as I went along with our little inside joke while I obediently climbed back into bed. "It's not his fault, Mer. I was just…regretting my little impromptu haircut," I told her, finally finding a legitimate excuse for why I might be crying other than the obvious 'I-just-woke-up-from-a-painkiller-overdose-the-day-after-I-was-brutally-attacked-by-someone-I-trusted' reason.

Sighing heavily, I ran my fingers through what was left of my hair and felt a pinch when I recalled my previously long and silky mane. I really didn't know what came over me to make such a drastic decision. In fact, I don't even recall doing it at the time.

"It'll grow back, Elena," Damon spoke up from across the room, his scarily accurate reading of my moods proving itself once again. "Before you know it, you'll be giving Hermione Granger a run for her money in the bushy hair department."

Did Damon Salvatore just make a Harry Potter reference?! The man was full of surprises. And _bushy_? Why bushy? If anything, I wanted Professor Snape's hair; all smooth and silky. Besides, Snape's dark-colored locks reminded me of _another_ raven-haired man, except that he is younger, hotter and much better looking than the Potions master.

"Yeah, before she left, Caroline said that she'll be here bright and early tomorrow morning for a complete makeover. She mumbled something about the new year with a fresh start and a match made in heaven with the kissy buddies," Meredith told me with a confused frown. "I don't know exactly. That girl talks way too fast to make any sense."

At the mention of the words 'kissy buddies', both Damon's and my eyes met briefly before we quickly averted our gaze at the same time, and then he cleared his throat and made his excuses as he shuffled over to the door, muttering about horrible blondes and victim number two as he went.

I was a little sad to see him go, and yet relieved at the same time. His absence made me realize suddenly how exhausted I was despite having slept throughout the night with the help of the painkillers. After a round of tests, Meredith cleared me of any lingering effects of my self-medication, and I was finally allowed to close my eyes and fall into a natural sleep.

This time, instead of a nightmare, I was dreaming of a wizarding school with my very own dark-haired teacher, trying to convince me to play a game of Wizard's Monopoly where the tokens come to life, and his Scottie dog keep trying to chase my boot token around the board.

* * *

_Damon's POV _

Considering the fact that the Salvatore mansion was previously a quiet and peaceful property where even_ I_ preferred to spend time away from, it seemed rather unusual to see the number of cars out on my front lawn these days. There were plenty of activities going on throughout the house, starting with the growing number of people who seemed to just walk in and out through the front doors at any time of the day without even bothering to knock first.

The den had never been as crowded before, for the exception of the Christmas Eve party fiasco. The kitchen, which used to be stocked with only expired canned food and a jar of suspicious-looking pickles at the back of the fridge that looked as if it had been there since Stefan was in his diapers – i.e. a year or two ago (evil smirk) – now resembled a mini grocery store.

What changed, one might wonder? Oh, only the presence of the lovely Elena Gilbert, that's what.

Caroline practically spent all day with her between classes, and also Meredith, the dedicated physician who dropped by constantly to check on her patient. Even the Tweedle-twins hung out regularly when they weren't working, but having Elijah around made me feel more relaxed, especially with regards to Elena's safety.

Before all this happened, I usually only saw Stefan briefly in the morning as we each grabbed our morning coffee before heading off to our own programs for the day. Now, not only do we spend hours in the same room every day, we also talk all friendly like, as if we didn't share a turbulent past. He also stopped asking about Elena's condition and generally stayed away from her room altogether, which struck me as weird, considering his romantic interest in her.

As for my brunette beauty, the only opportunity to spend some quality time with her without the presence of our friends was late at night, after everyone had finally stumbled their way home, leaving the house quiet once again. They were spent watching over her as she slept, weary after yet another eventful day and one of our talks just before her lids drooped in exhaustion.

Without even realizing it, I had begun a nightly ritual of tucking her in for the past few nights. Elena had been nothing but the obedient little patient, mending in bed for the past week and well on her way to a full recovery, physically.

As a group, we all collectively decided not to celebrate New Year's day, seeing as Sir-Rapes-a-Lot was still at large, and not a single one of us managed to convince Elena to talk about what happened. And without any evidence or her statement, Elijah couldn't build a case strong enough to charge him with.

In fact, my two buddies, my brother and I were having yet another one of our 'How shall we convince Elena?' brainstorming sessions on New Year's Day, trying to think up ways to broach the subject of sending Rapewood to jail. It had become our morning ritual as we all crowded around the kitchen island, sipping our coffee.

"You should ask her again, since you two have this unshakable bond that none of us can emulate, seeing as we all have penises," Ric suggested drily, prompting the others to nod in agreement.

"What, so do I!" I insisted vehemently, but I kind of knew what he meant by that. Still, he needn't have stated it quite like _that_.

My fierce championing of my manhood earned me an eyeroll from Elijah. "You do, but somehow, she's willing to trust you and all your 'penisness' while she's still wary of us three even though we've tried not to invade her personal space."

He wasn't wrong about that point. Elena had not been able to get over her fear of being in the same room with the opposite sex without visibly shrinking away whenever one of the guys went upstairs for a visit with her. She was still distrustful of people around her, and basically only allowed Care, Mer and myself near her. In fact, I felt rather special, being the only male with my additional appendix allowed unlimited access to her room.

"But that's precisely why I don't want my VIP access to be revoked. I _like_ the way she trusts me, and as long as I don't push her too much, I get to hang out in her room and talk to her all night," I explained with a satisfying smile, until I remembered my baby bro in the room with us, listening quietly. I wasn't supposed to be so smug about my extremely comfortable relationship with the girl he was crushing on.

"Uhh, actually," I hastily corrected, sneaking a peep at my silent sibling. "I'm sure it's only because I was the one who found her at that house, and that somehow created some kind of connection between us, a..uhh…a strictly _platonic_ connection. We're buddies, Elena and I. I mean, she's not even a girl to me."

Liar, liar, tight pants on fire! No, she's no girl. She's _all_ woman, every single inch of her. But baby bro didn't have to know that.

But then, I forgot that I had two troublemakers with me. "Buddies, huh? If you go around kissing all your platonic buddies, then I'm afraid your friendship with Mer and I is over right now," Ric warned with a smirk, obviously not at all concerned with keeping the forbidden kiss a secret.

"Yeah, so's ours, Damon," the other Tweedle commented with a threatening flash of his holstered pistol by his hip, making his unspoken warning on my life crystal clear should I ever find my lips anywhere near his.

I was left sputtering as I made a pathetic denial, but Stefan surprised me with a smile. "Actually, I think it's great that Elena has you looking out for her, especially now that her entire world got turned upside down. You're lucky that she _does_ trust you, because then you'll be the best person who can help her through this. Give her some time to deal with it in her own way, but she's going to want to talk about what happened, and when she does, all you need to do is listen. Just be patient in the mean time."

All three of us stared at him in shocked silence, our mugs lifted halfway to our lips now forgotten. Who was he and what did he do to Stefan? He sure _looked_ the same, right down to his perfectly gelled spiky hair, but he was saying something smart that made sense for once, and that was enough to make me doubt his identity.

I was still staring at him with narrowed eyes when Elijah responded to his comments. "Yes, well as much as I wish that we had the luxury of time for Elena to work through her scars, we still have a very violent and clearly unrepentant criminal on the loose. We have no idea what he's planning to do next, or if he'll go after her again soon. Any evidence at the crime scene would have been erased and cleaned up by now, too. We have nothing," he said with finality, effectively dashing all my hopes of seeing Rapewood behind bars.

Elijah's right, of course. The longer we wait the less chance we have of building a strong case against him. All we had were the pictures we took of the crime scene on my phone, and the medical report, proving that Elena suffered from some physical trauma, at least. Care and I could be her witnesses for the emotional stress she was under when we found her in the bathroom, but we needed more.

"I need to convince her to make an official police report, right? But to do that, she'll need to go through everything in detail, and I don't think she can handle that now," I announced, worried about the whole situation. As much as I wanted Rapewood in a cell with no windows, I also didn't want to force Elena into anything she wasn't ready for. A rock and a hard place, that's where I found myself at the moment.

"I'm sorry, but I _can't_ handle it," a hesitant voice came from a distance, and then four masculine heads swiveled towards the kitchen archway to see the woman we were discussing, dressed in jeans and a tee shirt, looking extremely adorable in casual attire, a pleasant change from the pjs she had been sporting the past week.

A sheepish Caroline appeared right behind her, shooting an apologetic look at me for their unexpected presence. "So guess who decided to join the rest of the world again?" she asked with a nervous laugh, mouthing the word 'sorry' to me stealthily without her friend realizing. "Wheee, it's Elena Gilbert! In clothes….not that you were naked in bed the rest of the time," she corrected herself swiftly.

Great, now I was stuck with that image in my head just when I just managed to convince myself that we were just friends. Now, she's a _naked_ friend in bed. Then, what do you know, I was climbing under the covers with her, and then we were a pair of naked buddies.

_Stop it, Damon Salvatore! You can't go around imagining your friends naked, even if you are in love with them!_

"Elena, you look… good. You seem to be healing nicely, too," Ric piped up after an uncomfortable silence at being caught red-handed for talking about her behind her back.

Not one to be left out, Elijah contributed his own flattering remark. "Err, yeah, Elena. Your jeans become you. I mean, it's a nice pair of jeans."

_Your jeans become you?!_ I almost burst out laughing at his odd compliment, especially when Elena didn't seem to know whether to thank him or thump him. It was almost worth it to be caught off guard by her, if only to see those two clowns making a fool out of themselves. That doesn't happen nearly as often as I would liked.

"Hey, stranger," I greeted her. She didn't seem willing to come any closer, which I suspected was due to the presence of the other three penis-owning men surrounding the island. "Welcome to the Salvatore kitchen, where we _never_ cook and nobody seems to know where to find all the cooking utensils," I declared as I waved my hand at the room with flourish.

The corners of her lips lifted a little at my quip, but she kept quiet otherwise. For a long time, no one said a word, not even the usually talkative blonde who seemed able to come up with facepalm-worthy comments to help diffuse a tense situation like this one.

"Look," Elena started hesitantly. "As much as I want to punish Mase for every-for what happened, I really don't think I can deal with reliving everything again. Even if I can talk about it, then what? It won't be over as soon as I give my statement, will it?"

Her wide brown eyes shifted over to Elijah's, addressing her questions to him.

"Then there'll be the whole investigation, _more_ questions, and the court case. I know how this works; I've seen shows about these sorts of cases. It's only going to drag on and on for years, and then our names are going to be all over the local papers and people are gonna know about it. His lawyers will put on a defense, naturally. Maybe they'll paint me as a gold-digger, and claim how I made up lies to get a payoff, or that I came up with this story for revenge. Am I wrong, Stefan?"

This time, she turned towards my brother, her brows lifted as she waited for an answer from someone with a little bit more knowledge on how the legal system works. Pursing his lips, he shook his head as an answer, and then she returned her pleading gaze to Ric and Elijah.

"He and his team are only going to drag my name through the mud, and the thing is, it's _my_ word against his. He's a Lockwood, so he has better social standings than me, not to mention that he can afford better lawyers than _I_ can," she pointed out, but this time, I had to interrupt her with an offer to help.

"Ric and I know some people who can help you, and I'm sure that Stef can recommend a few from law school who specializes in this type of cases. If it's money you're worried about-"

I stopped mid-sentence when she held up a hand to interrupt me, sighing as she shook her head. "It's not about that. I mean, yeah, there's the money issue, but no matter what happens, this is only going to ruin _my_ life, not his. I'm fighting a losing battle even before I've begun. He has already ruined my past; I'm not going to let him control my future, too. I'm sorry if this disappoints you all, but I've made my decision and nobody can change my mind," she announced with steely resolve, her stubbornness returning.

She might have been talking to my buddies, but I knew that the last part of that sentence was directed at me. From what she had overheard, it was obvious that I would be the one to nudge her in the right direction. But hearing her arguments then, I didn't want to push the issue any further, not right now at least. Besides, it was New Year's Day…nobody wants an argument on the first day of a new year!

"You know what? We don't have to worry about this right this minute, do we? I mean, you didn't get all dressed up and come downstairs to talk about this, right? What did you girls have in mind on this fine day?"

My abrupt change of topic succeeded in relieving the tension-filled moment, making everyone relax slightly. As always with Care Bear and her impeccable timing, she decided to rejoin the conversation then with yet another one of her awkwardly hilarious one liners.

"We're thinking of going out to find a dark alley and try our luck at getting mugged so that Elena can practice that self-defense move you taught her at the hospital, you know, the one where she totally kicked your ass and made you cry like a little sissy boy?"

Okay, remember when I said that Caroline was hilarious and that I liked her? Yeah, I take everything back.

I scowled at her menacingly as the others chuckled at my expense, even my jean-clad brunette who seemed to have recovered part of her good humor then. "For the record, I did _not_ cry like a little sissy boy!" I hissed thru gritted teeth. How did I go from imagining Elena naked in bed to picturing myself tying her best friend to a tree with a bunch of explosives surrounding her?

"Okay, maybe you didn't, but you practically admitted that my little dainty friend managed to kick your ass and send you rolling around on the ground. And she was so scared that she almost had to give you mouth-to-mouth to save your life. Oh hey, maybe _that's_ the plan, eh, you sly dog?" the blonde teased with a wink, not knowing that her days were numbered.

"Damon sometimes likes to pretend that he's a damsel in distress, just to get a little attention from the ladies, remember, Ric?" Elijah spoke up, nudging excitedly at the sandy-haired man beside him. "He once wore a fake cast to school and walked around with crutches, remember that? He had a group of girls carrying his books, his lunch and even offering to give him a bath."

I could only stare at Elena in horror as she listened to my oldest friends' reminiscing about the good old days when I wasn't such a stand-up guy like I am now. I was a dick in high-school, and these weren't stories I wanted to share with Elena. She trusted me, dammit! I didn't want her to start treating me like just another penis she was afraid of!

"Hang on, I think I remember that whole limping phase he used to fake! Didn't he get confused about which leg was supposed to be injured? I heard that something happened…oh!" my idiotic brother snapped his fingers as the memories came rushing back. "Didn't the school nurse chase after you one morning and insisted to check you out personally, and somehow, you just _happened_ to be miraculously 'healed' after she tackled you down in front of the girl's locker room?"

My so-called friends burst into guffaws at the story, and I wanted to hide inside one of the kitchen cabinets and never be seen again. Even Elena stared at me with her mouth open and a suspicious sheen of tears in her eyes as she continued to discover more of my sordid past. Well, I had to set the record straight, at least.

"To be fair, that nurse weighed over two hundred and fifty pounds and she was straddling me in the school hallway, insisting that I removed my pants so that she could 'massage' my inner thighs to help with the blood circulation. _Of course_ I ran away screaming from her. Wouldn't you?" I asked incredulously at the general group, ignoring their shaking shoulders and red faces. Okay, story time was officially over as far as I was concerned. "Can't believe you'd sell me out like that in front of company, Stefan! You are grounded! Now go to your room," I commanded half-jokingly.

Still chuckling, my brother moved off from the kitchen barstool and made his way towards me, resting his hand on my shoulder with a grin. "Not today, big bro. It's New Year's and I have a date," he announced in an upbeat tone. I was still getting used to seeing him jovial for the first time in his life, when his words suddenly hit home inside my head.

Stefan Salvatore had a _date_?! Since when? "With a _girl_?" I blurted out a little tactlessly.

"Well, that's generally the idea, but it was incredibly sexist of you to simply assume that. But, yeah, me and a hot blonde, going out. Spending some time together. Doing fun stuff. You know, a date! Maybe _you_ should try it one day, seeing as how behind the times you are at this kind of stuff," he joked, clapping me on the back twice before his eyes slid not-too-discreetly over to Elena by the arch. Then he strode away casually, stopping near her while keeping his respectful distance. "I'm glad you're feeling better, Elena," he told her and then he walked away as cool as cucumber.

My gaze followed after him, and I noticed Caroline's puzzled eyes watching him as well, as if she was trying to figure him out. Nothing made sense anymore in this house, not since this morning. So far, I wasn't too fond of the year 2013, where everything was all sorts of wonky.

I thought Stefan had a serious crush on Elena and now he was going off on a _date_? With another girl none of us had any idea he even knew or noticed? And when exactly did he stop carrying a torch for my Elena? And what did that look he threw over at her even mean?

I might need to lie down.

"Umm, you know what, Elena? Maybe we should do the whole mugging thing tomorrow. I mean, Stefan's right; it _is _New Year's Day, and I'm certain even criminals have off days. I'm pretty sure they'll break the law again tomorrow. So, can we take a raincheck? Okay, thank you and love ya!" Care said in a rush without bothering to wait for Elena's answer before she disappeared from sight, obviously intending to catch up with my brother. That was also odd.

"I swear I'll never really understand that boy," Ric said suddenly, probably echoing everybody's thoughts at that moment. "He gets weirder with age, kinda like that jar of pickles at the back of your fridge."

Not to be outdone, the usually serious Elijah gave a dramatic sigh as he rested his chin on his palm, allowing his occasional good humor to shine. "Our little boy's all grown up now, Ric. Now he can sprout wings and fly off to wherever he wants, leaving us two old farts at home. But sadly, _this_ old fart need to fly over to the station to clear some paper work stacked up to ceiling height, so I'll bid you all adieu."

"I'll go, too. Drop me off at the hospital?" Ric asked. At Elijah's nod, they both rinsed their mugs, looking like a couple of domesticated husbands. Then, the perfectly coif-haired detective turned his attention to me, sizing me up and down as if I was a wanted felon. "Now, Damon, we're going to leave this young lady alone here with you, so I need your word that you'll be at your best behavior. That means don't do anything I wouldn't do or that I can arrest you for, deal?"

My mind immediately conjured up an image of me taking Elena out to beat the crap out of some mugger in an alley, and I was seriously wondering if that was illegal in his eyes. Maybe. "But Daaaaad," I whined, folding my arms in front of my chest as a sign of rebellion, complete with a pout. "Where's the fun in _that_?"

"I mean it, buddy!" he warned, giving me a stern look before his lips widened into a reluctant smile. "Oh, what the hell, it's a new year. Have fun, guys. Oh and Elena…..I like your new hairdo," he complimented, grinning broadly at her blush. With a farewell wave and another meaningful look from Ric, my two 'dads' made their exits, bickering like little old ladies as they discussed about the best route to take to the hospital.

Suddenly, Elena and I were alone at last, in broad daylight with nothing to do. Oh, the possibilities…

Simultaneously, we turned to face each other, our expressions contemplative while we studied one another. And then it became obvious what we should do to while away the hours before our friends made their way back to the mansion again. It was a rare opportunity to have the house to ourselves, and with that in mind, I slowly reached out to her, quirking an eyebrow just as a mischievous grin appeared on her face.

* * *

_Damon's POV_

Sweat trickled down my body, my muscles aching from lack of use as I held myself still, allowing Elena to get used to my position. She was biting her lips in concentration, equally as drenched as I was, and I was distracted momentarily as my eyes followed a stray bead of sweat, making its way from her neck down into her cleavage.

"I can't….do this," she grunted, and the deep, sexy sound was my undoing. I collapsed on top of her, hearing her wince in pain before I managed to roll to the side to land on my back right beside her, my chest heaving from the exertion. "I prefer the first time we did this. It didn't feel as good this time," she complained.

Still panting, I turned my head to look at her, watching her cheeks reddening from the workout. "You were the one who said you were ready for this, remember? I didn't force you into anything, not unless I was sure that you were healed properly. We can stop if you want."

"No," she insisted stubbornly, "I _want_ to do this. I just need a minute to rest, that's all. Can I be on top next time?"

If I hadn't been so tired, I would have realized how misleading this entire scenario could be for the casual onlooker or an eavesdropper. Hell, even _I_ was dangerously close to misunderstanding her on purpose and twisting everything she said to sound dirty and perverted. But with Elijah's warning in mind, I reined in my thoughts and maintained my gentlemanly façade.

_Oh, but what the hell! Elena could be on top, or under me, or in any position she wanted, as long as I could make it feel good for her. Oh she'd feel better than good!_

Okay, now that _that_'_s_ out of my system, I decided to answer her innocent question, hiding my inner horn dog thoughts to myself. "No, you _can't_ be on top, not if you want to figure out what went wrong when you tried to punch the daylights out of that asshole. Want to show me again how you did it?"

If it wasn't obvious, Elena and I were reenacting a scene from her attack, after she had been curious enough to vaguely describe what she had tried and failed to do when Rapewood was holding her down. She had been reluctant to tell me at first, but she was the one who broached the subject of why it didn't work on him when it worked so well for her first attempt on the hospital grounds. Caroline's teasing about her kicking my ass when we had our very first self-defense lesson probably triggered some memory in her mind, and that resulted in what was happening right now.

"Yeah, okay. Come on, get on top and attack me, you evil man," she grumbled jokingly, tensing her body as she prepared herself for me to resume my previous position.

I quickly got into position above her, straddling her slim hips with my full weight and wrapping one hand around the back of her neck firmly. Again, she looked absolutely terrified and panicky as she found herself in a helpless position once more. It was hard to see her like that, though, so I tried to get her mind off of it.

"Do you trust me?" I asked.

"Yes."

"Can I trust _you_?"

"Umm, I guess so."

"Okay, so if you manage to kick my ass again and if I actually _die_ from crying like a sissy boy, you can have Pig and my most prized possession; my gorgeous car," I declared with a smirk.

I noted with satisfaction that my distraction techniques worked like a charm, seeing her bewildered expression as her muscles relaxed at my unexpected announcement.

"What? What about Stefan?"

"Well, you _can_ adopt him too, if you'd like, but he's legally an adult now. Unless you want a full grown man to call you 'mommy', then you can just have him as a housemate," I joked, earning me a playful slap on the arm followed by a giggle from the woman under me.

I can't even describe the feelings that soared through my body when her entire body vibrated with her giggles, reminding me of our pre-party mishap with the Christmas tree. It seemed like a lifetime ago.

"No, silly! I meant that your brother should be the one to inherit your dog and your beloved car, not me. After all, he _is_ family," she pointed out, now completely relaxed as she seemed to have forgotten about the fact that she was in a precarious position with a fully grown man with a healthy libido right on top of her.

"You're _my_ family, too, Elena," I declared seriously. "Anyway, Pig practically chose you as her mommy already, and I don't trust Stef with my car, so you're the best person I know for that kind of responsibility. And if you can fight me off, you can even have my room. It's got a kick-ass big screen TV and a huge four-post bed you can have girly pillow-fights in."

With those added incentives, she renewed her determination to get out of the death grip I had on her, frowning as her eyes darted here and there in search of a way to free herself. With her right hand, she made several attempts to jab at my torso like she did before, grimacing when her fractured finger made contact with my chest. Like a trooper, she didn't even stop but kept right on hitting, biting her lips with concentration.

Clearly, it wasn't working, and I didn't want her to reinjure her fingers, so I released my hold on her and pulled her up to her feet. "That's enough. I can't have you fracturing the other fingers before all your other injuries had even healed. Let's try something else," I suggested, noticing the disappointment in her face.

"But did I do something wrong? I mean, is it my technique or is it actually impossible to get out of that position?"

"No," I shook my head, "it's not impossible, but it is extremely difficult especially when the attacker is superior in size than you. First of all, you're not strong enough, and secondly, you were on your back, so obviously you're at a disadvantage since you can't put your body's weight into the punch. I'll teach you something else instead."

"Like what? How to point and shoot with a gun?"

As if I'd want her armed and dangerous and able to actually _kill_ me. "You wish! With my luck, you'd shoot me with my own gun just because you want Pig, the Camaro and my room all to yourself. No, I was thinking more like the basics. Do you remember that Sandra Bullock show? The one where she S.I.N.G.s?"

"Yeah, I love that movie! It was hilarious!" she stated eagerly. "But how does that help with defending myself at all?"

"It does and it will. Look, you said you trust me, right? Then just do what she did and I'll explain it later. Just give it a try," I urged.

"Umm, o-okay. Let me just…umm…get into position," she muttered, looking embarrassed for some reason. My eyes began to narrow in confusion when she moved _away_ from me, mumbling about windows and walls. Then what she did next stunned me beyond belief.

She circled around me slowly, her arms raised high as she waved them around hesitantly, her fearful eyes on me the entire time. "Oooh, eee, eee, oooh," she started chanting, much to my puzzlement. "To-to the window, to the window, to the wall, to the wall, to the sweat drip down my balls, a-all you bitches crawl, to all skit skit motherfucker, all skit skit Goddamn," she rapped, now averting her eyes as she turned pink and therefore not seeing my reaction.

I was practically doubled over, clutching my sides as I gasped for breath from laughing silently with tears running down my cheeks. She began to get over her initial shyness as she started again from the top, her voice getting louder. When it got to the part where she cursed again, I couldn't help the roaring hilarity that escaped from my lips, prompting her to stop immediately to flash me an evil glare.

"Damon! Do you even _know_ what you're doing or is this just a lame trick to see how much I trust you?"

I held up my hand to signal for her to wait while I wheezed, trying to get back my breath from being so thoroughly entertained. Oh gosh, I _really_, _truly_, love this girl!

"I'm glad you trust me so implicitly, but it's not my fault, you know? I didn't mean 'The Proposal', you silly ninny. Haven't you seen 'Miss Congeniality'? The one about the beauty pageant? Sandra Bullock's character demonstrated the four sensitive areas in an attacker's body," I explained, wiping my wet face from the combination of both sweat and tears. Luckily, there was no blood in sight.

"Oh," she exclaimed with a look of understanding. "Well now, _that_ makes sense, see? But I haven't watched that one, so I wouldn't know. I kinda feel stupid right now, though."

I chuckled again, amazed at how this small slip of a girl could make me feel so many emotions at a time. Sobering quickly, I decided to concentrate at the task at hand. "Stand in front of me, Elena," I instructed, waiting as she walked over to stand in front of me face-to-face, her trusting face upturned as she waited for further instructions.

I could get lost in those Bambi eyes of hers forever.

"How do you want me?" she whispered, sending chills down my spine at the double-entendre of her question.

"From behind," I answered, my voice sounding squeaky high. Clearing my throat, I hastily explained what I wanted her to do. "I mean, turn around and relax."

She obeyed without a fuss, and when she had her back turned towards me, I stepped forward even closer, my entire front connecting with her back. With deliberate slowness so as not to alarm her, I wrapped both arms around her front, one over her shoulder and the other around her waist. She released a gasp at my touch, stiffening up as I held her close.

"Remember to S.I.N.G; solar plexus, instep, nose, and groin," I mumbled with my lips mere centimeters from her ear, causing her to shudder when my breath caressed her skin.

"W-what?"

"Move your body to the side as much as you can, then aim your elbow at the solar plexus, then ground your heel on my instep. Then I want you to lift your other elbow to hit my nose and finally, curl your hand into a fist with the thumb tucked in and punch the groin as hard as you can," I explained calmly, and then added a disclaimer in case she mistakenly decided to go for it. "You can practice on me, but don't use any force."

With a jerky nod, she followed my instructions slowly, getting the sequence correct the first few times while I corrected her positioning. We practiced together for an hour at least, until the afternoon sun shone down on us, signaling how late it was getting.

"You're getting better at this, but you know that if this happens in real life, you can't hesitate even for a moment. You have to go with your instincts and channel all your energy into hurting your attacker long enough to get away. Use your emotions…get angry, but stay calm and focused," I told her, watching her absorb it all in.

"And how do I do _that_?"

"Okay, close your eyes," I told her, and she had them closed in an instant. "Think back, Elena. Think about that day when he attacked you. Replay it in your head, how he treated you, how he forced himself on you. Do you remember how he held you down, and what he did?"

I watched her swallow, her hands in fists by her side and then her breathing changed as her brows furrowed. "Yeah, I remember," she said, her voice thick with emotions.

"How do you feel right now?" I asked, keeping my eyes on her face. She seemed to be getting more and more distraught as the seconds ticked by.

"I'm angry." She was beginning to tremble as well, whether from fear or anger, I didn't really know.

"Good. Remember this feeling. Imagine if you could rewind and be in that position again, and apply what you have learnt today on him. What difference it would make if you had been able to defend yourself," I spoke softly, maintaining my cool exterior even though I was worried about her for having to relive that experience.

But this was just a demonstration, and I didn't want to upset her any further, so I decided to end the training session right there. Perhaps we could resume the next day, or make this a daily training regime to build up her strength and endurance. Without thinking, I reached out to touch her shoulder, intending to announce that it was time for us to go back inside the house.

"Okay, I think we're done for the-" I started telling her, only to be cut off by her sudden reactions. It happened so fast that I hardly had time to counter her moves, and the next thing I know, I was once again writhing on the ground at her feet, clutching my crotch as I tried to refrain from cursing out loud.

Well, nobody could say that I wasn't a good teacher, and neither could they deny that Elena was a good student. It had been twice now that she had brought me down to my knees, and I was on the brink of crying like a sissy boy as I experienced pain like no other I'd ever felt before. My chest hurt like hell, my right foot was throbbing, and I was pretty sure that my nose was no longer on my face. Oh yeah, and little Damon was out of commission for the time being, too…possibly forever.

"Elena," I gasped out through my teeth, followed by a loud groan. "You weren't supposed to hit _me_!"

"Ohh, I'm _so_ so sorry," she exclaimed apologetically, but I wasn't feeling particularly forgiving at the moment. "Oh God, you're bleeding! Wait here!"

I heard her panicked voice and registered that she was running away from me towards the house and I thought it odd that it didn't occur to her that I couldn't move even if I wanted to. I felt like I had been swung into a tree at a very high speed, only to fall down twenty feet through thick branches that had my body bruised beyond recognition.

I was still a little out of it when I felt someone lift my head and then I was leaning back on something soft and warm. I relaxed into the comfortable object, jumping in shock when I felt a wet washcloth on my face.

"Sorry, but I can't find anything else to stop the nosebleed, so you're going to have to keep these in there until the bleeding stops," I heard her saying from behind me, followed by her shoving something into my nose holes. I didn't care what they were as long as I still had a nose. "Where else does it hurt, Damon?"

"Everywhere. My b-balls," I managed to mumble as I kept my hand gripped tightly to the area, not even certain if I would be able to generate sperm ever again. It would be sad if the Salvatore line depended only on my brother. It was common knowledge that I was the hotter, better and far superior one in the family.

"I'm sorry! But you asked me to focus on my anger and then I thought that you were playing the role of the attacker again, so I just reacted. I didn't even think about it. It was pure instinct," she said defensively, but I could hear the regret in her voice.

"You did good," I croaked out, feeling the slightest bit better when some other feelings returned to my nether region other than just blinding pain. "You have a great aim. I guess we can upgrade you to guns next."

"No, I don't want to shoot you and _kill_ you!"

I could feel her arms wrapped around my torso from behind me, and that was when I realized that I was leaning back on _her_, my head resting against her chest as if her breast were my pillows. So, in addition to having bruised and possibly broken balls, I could potentially have an erection as well?

_Just kill me, kill me now!_

I stayed silent for a while, letting my mind wander as I tried not to think of how close we were then, physically. I just let myself enjoy the silence as my body slowly recovered, feeling oddly comforted with the feeling of her arms around me casually, like she was as comfortable with me as I was with her. Then, I reached up with one hand and pulled at the thing that was stuffed in my nose, shocked at what I was seeing as I held the crimson-stained item in my hand.

It was a tampon.

Rolling my eyes with disgust, I simply shrugged and stuffed it back in, preferring not to make a big deal out of it to disturb the peace that surrounded us now. And then her soft voice penetrated through my brain.

"Damon," she began, "I-I think I'm ready to talk about Mason now."

* * *

**Twitter: cgsa_cher**

**Askfm: Cheryl Gee**

**A huge thank you to my beta KRISTI (tukct81), without whom my life would be in shambles….my fanfiction life, anyway. **

**Random Thoughts: Did you know that food turns to poo? Shocker, I know. Did you also know that REVIEWS turn me into goo? Now you do! So do review and I won't go all 'skit skit Goddamn' on you. XD**

**Oh, and remember to vote for your favorite stories! **


	18. Chapter 18

**OVERHEARD: GIRL: "I really like guys with nipples on their faces!" **

**Friend: "Umm, you meant **_**dimples**_**, right?"**

**GIRL: "Yeah, nipples!"**

**I could kiss each and every one of you who voted for me! Why? A Woman's Worth got 2****nd**** place in that Energize W.I.P. Award! This story was just 1 vote behind the first place, but what the heck! The best story won fair and square and 2****nd**** is a major deal! So this is me kissing you, kay? Try not to squirm too much, will ya?**

**Kiss me back? Maybe?**

* * *

**A Woman's Worth: Chapter EIGHTEEN**

_(Caroline's POV)__ - __Brief detour to find out what's up with Stefan. Like the dude's suddenly so cool and supportive? Weird!_

As a person who cares _very_ deeply about the people in my life, I really don't like it when there's something brewing and yet I'm not a part of it. It goes against my extremely inquisitive nature.

Alright, alright, my _busybody_ nature. _Jeez_! Po-ta-toe, po-tah-to.

As much as I might have enjoyed attacking unsuspecting 'innocent' muggers as part of girly bonding time with my BFF, there was something peculiar happening with Stefan Salvatore and I intended to get to the bottom of it.

And so there I was, actually passing on watching Elena putting some serious hurt on the town's less upstanding citizens and _most_ importantly, sacrificing the soles of my very expensive shoes as I hurried after the sneaky younger Salvatore. By the time I'd rushed out of the mansion, Stef's car had already pulled out of the driveway, but it was only because it was extremely hard to run fast in heels.

As I struggled to fasten my seat belt, I thought back to the complete one-eighty of his most recent behavior; he seemed less broody and even made an effort to poke fun at his older brother. And now, going on an actual date with a _girl_?

_Clearly_, the boy's possessed by a demon.

Of course, this being Mystic Falls, there really aren't that many places where one could take a girl out, so I headed to the Grille, trying my luck to see if my hunch would prove to be right. In fact, my instincts are hardly ever wrong, which was why I once considered a career as a detective or an Investigative Journalist. Hmm, perhaps I could still do it, if I changed my major.

As wrapped up in my own thoughts as I was, I was already pulling up in front of the Mystic Grille when I saw the familiar car parked in front of the building.

_Ah-ha_, I thought to myself. Mentally patting myself in the back, I approached the entrance to the restaurant cautiously, keeping a lookout for the guy I was spying on, as well as the 'hot blonde' he was supposed to be seeing.

I thought _I_ was the only hot blonde he knew!

My eyes swept across every booth in the place, finding nobody I recognized. Then, I snuck further inside, and that was when I spotted him at the bar, looking very forlorn as he sat on the corner barstool, chatting with a very fair-haired _masculine_ type of person.

"See, when you mentioned a 'date with a hot blonde', I didn't expect it to be Matt Donovan. Well, this explains your 'sexist' remark earlier with Damon," I teased as I approached them, sidling up onto a barstool right beside him before I smiled at the blue-eyed bartender. "Hey, Matty!"

"Hey, Care Bear," my old friend greeted, a dashing smile on his face. "So, a different Salvatore this time, huh? Do we _also_ steal his drinks right from under his nose?"

I giggled out loud at his question, recalling the time he and I ganged up on Damon at this very spot, hijacking his bourbon shots before he could down them. Fun times! "No, we don't. At least not yet. I'll keep you posted if I change my mind," I informed him with a grin, winking mischievously before he wandered away to attend to another customer.

Turning my attention back to Stefan, I watched as he released a silent groan accompanied by a 'Whoops, busted!' expression. "Care," he muttered, closing his eyes while he pinched the bridge of his nose. "_Of course_ it's you. I should've known you'd spy on me."

"Then, why even bother with the lie? Don't people know by now that Caroline Forbes has the all-seeing-eye? Nothing ever escapes me, you know?" I said distractedly while I signaled Matty for a beer. _What_? It was New Year's Day and I was talking to a Salvatore! Alcohol is a _prerequisite_! "It's downright insulting that you even thought you'd get away with it."

"I don't mind _you_ knowing, but do you think my brother figured it out? Does he still think that I'm interested in Elena?" he asked.

For a minute there, I thought he was joking and almost laughed but then I saw his anxious expression, casting a worried glance around him as if he expected the dark-haired Salvatore to appear at any moment. Taking pity on him, I denied instantly. "Nah. Damon can be even more clueless than _you_ at times, which is hard to believe, but it's totally true. His brain doesn't work very well around Elena. So this whole 'I-have-a-date' charade is for him?"

"_Why_? Why do you even think that? Is it so hard to believe that I might be here, waiting for my date to show up and that she's simply…..oh, I don't know, _late_?"

"Yup," I replied without hesitating. Did he think I was _stupid _or just having an airhead moment now?

Rolling his eyes with a sigh, he must have decided that it was actually smarter and less time consuming to give up and come clean. "Fine! I did it because I realized that you were right. I spent the past week observing my brother and Elena, and yeah, I can see what you mean. She trusts him, and she obviously needs him in her life, and I think that she brings out his caring side even more than usual. He's great with her," he admitted quietly, almost reluctantly. Hmm, perhaps _somebody_ wasn't completely over his crush on a certain lady just yet.

"Well, if it's any consolation, I think you did good today. A very selfless and _brotherly_ thing by backing off and not letting your own feelings complicate things further," I said reassuringly, giving him an approving pat on his head in a show of support, and then finding myself amazed at how soft his hair was. "Now, all those two idiots need to do now is to let nature take its course and admit they love each other and have adorable babies and move on from this nightmare. God knows Elena needs some happy in her life, considering what she's been through."

Nodding glumly, Stefan drained his beer in a single gulp, and then set the mug down, releasing a loud belch as he did so. "Oops, sorry about that," he hastily apologized, red-faced and adorably sheepish as he clapped his palm over his mouth while flashing me an embarrassed look.

Laughing it off, I did the same thing to my own mug of beer, swallowing a few times until the foamy drink disappeared altogether.

"Watch this," I told him, pulling his attention my way as I thumped on my chest twice with my fist, then let out a deep, lengthy and unladylike burp that reverberated around the room, drawing disgusted looks from the other patrons.

His green eyes lit up like Christmas twinkly lights, his shoulders beginning to shake with laughter at my demonstration as he clapped silently. I bowed graciously at his applause and then our conversations flowed effortlessly from that point onwards, starting with another round of an impromptu burping competition.

By the end of our non-date date, I was definitely the clear winner of the day, as judged by the thoroughly amused but impartial Matt Donovan.

* * *

_(Elena's POV)_

"I-I think I'm ready to talk about Mason now."

My unexpected announcement stopped everything in its tracks the moment I finished uttering them. Damon had stiffened as he leaned back against my chest, and then a pair of piercing blue eyes peered up into mine from his lowered position, the sides of his head rubbing distractingly at my breasts. His upturned face was shockingly close to mine suddenly, our breaths mingling in the narrow space that separated our lips.

If it hadn't been for those pesky strings attached to two tampons that were dangling from his bloody nose, it might even be misconstrued as a potentially romantic moment between us. Sadly though, my accidental victim decided for the both of us that it _wasn't_, maybe because he preferred to focus more on what I had just announced.

"Really? You want to talk about him _now_? You mean all this while, all I had to do was get my nuts crushed and be beaten to a pulp to get you to open up to me?" came his teasing voice, more than likely in an attempt to lighten the mood. "In case you can't tell from my facial paralysis and the constant oozing of blood from my nose, I'm actually smiling supportively and eagerly waiting for you to continue."

"I really _am_ sorry, Damon," I apologized once again as I gazed down at him, feeling the guilt creeping back at the amount of pain I had caused him just moments before. Perhaps I was being too hasty about opening up to him about Mason now. I certainly had lousy timing, what with my knack of injuring my confidant and all. With a worried frown, I resumed my previous task of wiping the blood off his face. "Maybe I should get you cleaned up and get Meredith to see if I did any permanent damage before-"

Sensing that I was about to retract my previous statement, his hand shot up as quick as lightning to cover over mine to halt my actions; the hand that had been grabbing at his crotch after my well-aimed punch. That crotch-to-my-hand gesture had me reeling with embarrassment at the direction my impure thoughts had taken. It was downright inappropriate, considering the proximity of our bodies and the way we were physically connected to each other.

"Elena." His quiet admonishment by the simple use of my name startled me from my own musings when I focused my attention back to the conversation at hand. "I'm fine, okay? I might need a few minutes to get everything in working order again, so I'm just going to scoot down," he paused as he cautiously wriggled his way lower until his head rested on my lap, "and get comfortable while you tell me your deep, dark secrets to help distract me from this _blinding_ pain you helped inflict on me, deal?"

I couldn't help myself. There was no way I could ever resist his adorableness and the way he looked from this upside-down view of him on my lap. So, I sat there, smiling down at him as he patted my hand in a comforting gesture, his thumb softly stroking my warm skin.

"Deal," I answered in a whisper.

Before I delved into the dark recesses of my mind for all Mason-related account, I needed to make sure that Damon was looked after first. So, I removed the bloody tampons and tilted his head back to see if the bleeding had stopped. Satisfied that it had, I used the wet cloth to dab at his skin, careful not to cause him any further pain as I concentrated on my task.

I was quiet for a long while, my brain working on overtime as I reluctantly opened the previously sealed imaginary titanium box full of Mason-memories. It was only when Damon reached up to pull at my chin that I realized that I was chewing rather hard on my lower lip.

"Hey, what's going on in that busy head of yours?" he asked softly.

"I-I was just thinking about _him_."

He nodded and sighed, before asking, "You too, huh? Are you also imagining him being drawn and quartered before burying his body parts in opposite corners of the world before he can come back as a zombie?"

"No, because I'd feel sorry for those corners of the world," I replied with a surprised giggle. "I would imagine that the ground would be toxic and nothing could ever grow on those areas ever again. And then the eco-system would suffer and the lives of thousands would hang in the balance, and that would affect the circle of life and then bring about an apocalypse that would end the reign of men on earth."

"Oh God, I didn't think of that! My bad. Now I feel like I should apologize to the universe for not being more environmentally considerate in my imagination."

He seemed sincerely aghast at his thoughtlessness that I felt the need to comfort him and maybe stroke his ego a little while I struggled to collect my thoughts. "I have a confession to make, and this might come as a surprise, but I think you deserve to know the truth," I told him, purposely averting my eyes to increase his curiosity.

It worked.

He lurched upright in an instant but I pushed him back down and pretended to be occupied with rubbing the cloth at blood stains that were no longer there.

"Talk to me, please. I'm getting a little freaked out here, just in case you haven't noticed," he implored nervously when my hesitation dragged on.

"I-I," I began tentatively, about to make my reveal, but lost my nerve at the last moment. "You-have-good-looking-nostrils-and-I-have-massive -nostril-envy," I blurted out in a single breath instead.

Shit. I couldn't believe that I was about to divulge that I had a teensy-weensy _tiny_ little crush on him when we first met. _Only_ when we first met.

_Big fat sweaty liar. _Also_, big fat coward! _

"What?" came his completely flabbergasted response.

Yeah…_what_? _Nostril envy_? How did I even-? Oh, maybe that inspiration came from staring at his doubled-holed nose while I was cleaning around them. Now that I was really noticing them consciously, they _did_ look amazingly attractive!

"You know what? Strike that. I never agreed to Mason's proposal," I admitted hurriedly before he started thinking that I was a complete spaz for that odd compliment. The subject matter was Mason, right? Well, I intended to stick to the subject before my inner chicken powers activated without my consent again.

To my complete and utter surprise, Damon didn't seem at all fazed with my disclosure. "Yeah, I kinda figured that out with Care and Donovan the other day. I'm sorry that I jumped to conclusions and went all judgmental on you without giving you a chance to explain. I guess you can tell that I tend to go a little crazy with all things related to that asshole," he answered sheepishly.

I nodded my acceptance of his apology, and then absently played with his tousled hair as I considered how to launch into the whole history with the only other guy I had allowed to get close enough to ruin me for the rest of my life.

"My parents never liked him, you know?"

"Gee, I wonder why? He's as cute as a little Powerpuff Girl!" he declared with a sarcastic roll of his pretty blue eyes.

Grinning down at the insolent man whose hair was beginning to stick out in _all_ directions from my ministrations, I gently poked at him for his jibe. "Come on, you've never met the _old_ Mason, the one who was generous, sweet, loving and kind. He hasn't always been this asshole you seem intent on hating, okay? He used to be a great guy, until-"

"Until he started using violence on you? Until he bullied you into giving in to his every whim and fancy and practically forbade you to see your friends? Until he assaulted you in every way possible? Until he almost _killed_ you?"

Damon's accusations were fast and hard-hitting, each one sending sharp blows to my heart, but I had nothing to say to dispute any of it. I _wanted_ to talk about him, and I _expected_ to hear the Mason-hate because they were all true. But still….it hurt.

"Yes, Damon," I heaved a sad sigh, "until _all_ that happened. But you need to understand why I went back to him, okay? It wasn't because he proposed to me, or because of your supposed relationship with Care. I went back because I still cared about the person he was way back then and I thought that I could show him some support and maybe, just _maybe_ I could bring the old Mason back again. I thought I could save him."

I stopped then, letting my thoughts bring me back to the time when my parents were still alive, and when Mason and I had started getting closer, when our relationship started becoming more than just friends. "He was very well-liked in school, charming, playful, supportive and extremely charismatic. He was the kind of guy who would drop everything he was doing to go and help out a friend, and could always cheer me up when I was feeling down. Kind of like _you_, in that respect," I said, smiling down at him tenderly as I continued to tug at his hair, brushing his soft curls off his ear.

"Please don't compare me with him….ever," he complained in a gruff tone, not liking what he was hearing at all. Obviously, he still held a great amount of animosity for my ex.

"It was a compliment, believe it or not. It was one of the main reasons why I fell for him, too; he made me laugh," I reminisced, not realizing what I had unknowingly implied. I didn't even notice the bewildered expression that appeared on his face as I continued.

"I couldn't understand why my parents didn't like him when I first introduced him as my boyfriend. My mom thought of him as a smooth-talker, a little too good to be true. She said that no one's that perfect on paper without some kind of flaw. There was nothing I could have said that would convince them otherwise, not even the numerous times I organized a dinner at a nice restaurant so that they could get to know him better. On that very same night that my parents had the accident, we were all together, having a pleasant dinner when my Mom just blurted outright that she didn't approve of us dating. She told him that I was too young to know what I wanted and that I should focus on my studies first. I mean, you can imagine how the rest of the meal went, right? And all along, she was right."

"Well, you know what they say; Mother knows best," Damon quipped with a smirk and then sobered quickly when he caught my guilty expression. "Sometimes, all you see is what the other person _wants_ you to see. And sometimes, it'll take years to _really_ know someone, and even then, they may still surprise you with what they're capable of. You think all serial killers have their foreheads tattooed with their murderous tendencies? But maybe you were right, you know? Maybe he _wasn't_ always such a dick and something happened that made him change. You couldn't have known, right?"

_Couldn't_ I? "What if the signs had been there this whole time but I was just too blind or too stubborn to see them? What if I'm just this dimwit who can't tell right from wrong?" I questioned out loud, more of talking to myself than actually aiming the questions at Damon. "And how could I have loved and lived with someone like _that_? A-a monster! That means that I was stupid enough to let someone like him into my life, that I was foolish enough to believe _everything_ he told me; every single lie, every single sob story, even believing every pathetic promise he made to me. Don't you see? I'm a mindless moron! I probably have pink cotton candy in my head instead of a brain," I lamented in despair.

I decided right then that I was quitting college. No point continuing now that I was flat-out broke and having missed so many classes that I couldn't even remember the lecturers' names, what more what classes I took. It would be for the best anyway, since Mason was the one who paid for my education, and we've broken up now. I should see if I can get the rest of the fees refunded back to him. I could even start looking for a job, one that pays more than peanuts so that I could afford to rent my own place and get out of the Salvatores' hair.

"Your brains are delicious…I meant, fine," Damon hastily amended, probably still confused over my whole cotton candy reference. It probably made his mouth water since we missed lunch due to our training and his aching ball sacks after. "They are fine and you're _not_ a moron. Stop being so hard on yourself, okay? You're only guilty of _one_ thing, and that is being human. You have a heart of gold, you have compassion, and you are able to look past people's faults and see the good within. Or in Lockwood's case, the good he projected for you to see, but still, you're not the type to easily give up on someone just because he's being a jerk. You should give yourself more credit, Elena. But maybe you should find a guy who _deserves_ you, not one who'll take advantage of those qualities. And someday, you will….but he'll have to get my stamp of approval first if he wants a date with our Miss Elena Gilbert."

He sounded playful when he mentioned that last part, but I couldn't help but be disappointed that he didn't deem himself as being the one who deserved me. Was he trying to gauge my response to that, or was he saying that he was only looking to be friends now because of everything that had happened?

"Dating…bleurgh!" I shuddered as if I was utterly disgusted with the notion. "The idea of going on a date with a guy, and wondering if he's really an evil monster lurking under the nice and normal persona he's wearing….not exactly what I have in mind anytime soon, if _ever_," I said with conviction.

I couldn't wrap my head around the idea of even being in the same room as a guy when I couldn't even bring myself to stand within five feet of Stefan, Ric or Elijah; men I _knew_ would protect me from harm and that I could trust. It was actually a testament to how much I truly trusted Damon, seeing as I was completely comfortable with his proximity and having his head on my lap as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

"Wait, so you're saying that you won't even date other guys after all this is over? I mean, not that soon, obviously, but maybe in the future, when you've regained your confidence in the male population in general and when you feel ready to start your own family?" Damon's narrowed gaze suggested that he didn't like what he was hearing, and I could hear the disappointment in his voice.

Shaking my head with a sad smile, I chose to go with what I was really feeling inside and gave him the truth. "I don't really see that as a possible future for me, Damon. With my luck, I'll probably sabotage everything from the start out of fear of trusting someone again. I'll more than likely just end up being this creepy old lady surrounded by dogs, and maybe even a couple of parrots, too."

My defeatist attitude appeared to be the last straw for him, because he scrambled to sit up despite his injuries to scowl at me with disapproval. It felt nice that he seemed to care enough about me to want me to be happy, but I had a hard time taking him seriously at the sight of his hair in that disheveled state. My fingers were itching to be buried in there to mess it up even further.

"That sounds like a really _lonely_ future, Elena," he commented, now sitting face-to-face with me. "I didn't realize that in this past week, you've not only sworn off men _and_ sex, but you've also resorted to a life of being a crazy bird lady. _Alone_," he stressed.

"I believe I said _creepy_, not crazy, and of course I won't be alone. I'll still have Care and her grandchildren to play with, and yours too, if I hadn't already ruined that for you with my punch earlier. I can always pop by and teach little Salvatore munchkins how to be bad at Monopoly and tell them all about how their grandpa hugged that Christmas tree."

That was my poor attempt of a joke to lighten the mood but he must have missed the punch line because his frown deepened even more while his lips were now set in a straight line.

"So you've even made plans for my sperm, huh? I'm surprised you haven't chosen a wife for me yet. And just what other _epiphanies_ have you had this week, hmm?" he asked, folding his arms in front of his chest as he leveled me with his eyes.

He really did resemble an annoyed parent at that moment, and made me feel every bit like a rebellious teen who just announced her decision to inject drugs into a vein and join a heavy metal band.

But since we were being all honest, I might as well share my immediate future plans. "Okay, if you _really_ want to know…" I paused briefly to chew on my lip again, thinking twice about getting myself into trouble again with him. I got the feeling that he didn't exactly approve of me being left alone and with no protection, which was precisely why I was hesitating with my answer.

Oh, what the hell! If he got upset, I could just threaten to injure other parts of his body.

"…I'm thinking about quitting college and getting a job," I announced promptly before I could change my mind. "To be honest, I can't afford the fees and I really need some income so that I can rent my own place and be able to afford food and stuff. And whenever I'm not at my full-time job, I also want to help you and Ric out with your cases at the centre or wherever it is you guys work from."

Coming to think of it, I have never heard either of them mention an office or even if they had one. "On a voluntary basis, of course," I added as an afterthought. I didn't know if they were all volunteers or whether they were marginally paid social workers.

After my disclosure, there was a long stretch of silence from the man in front of me. His face took on a pained expression, and for a minute there, I actually thought that he was still in physical pain from earlier, but then the next words out of his mouth proved me wrong.

"I never realized just how bad the damage of what he's done to you might be," he muttered softly. "You're quitting school, you're looking for work, and you're even planning to move out and be on your own. I mean it's like you've _given_ _up_ completely. You're only twenty-one years old and yet you think your life is over before it's even begun. That's just sad, Elena," he said with something akin to pity in his voice.

I was certain that he didn't mean to sound condescending, but I reacted instinctively to his tone rather than his words. He wasn't wrong in his summation but I'll be damned if I was going to be pitied.

"It's not giving up; it's an _acceptance_ of my situation. It's also known as harsh reality, so you can think of me as a quitter, but I see it more as surviving." My voice was clipped and defensive, and I immediately regretted it right after, but I have always been more of a reactor than a thinker anyway.

Damon immediately held his hands up, flashing me his wide baby blues at me before backing off, hastily mumbling out an apology. "Hey, I didn't mean to come off sounding judgy or as if I don't understand, because I _do_. I had to survive as well, remember? In fact I was much younger than you are _and_ I had a younger brother to be responsible for, too. So, I'm pretty well versed in that whole harsh-reality-thing you mentioned. But I also had good friends and I was not afraid to ask for help when I needed it. Stef and I wouldn't have made it this far if it hadn't been for Ric and his family," he explained hurriedly, effectively ruining my brief defensive moment.

"I've been there, Elena, and I know _exactly_ what you're going through," he went on, reaching over to cover my hands in his own hesitatingly in case I was still upset. "I'm going to give you my opinions whether you want to hear them or not, because I think you might be operating on your emotions right now. You're not _wrong_, but there are certainly better ways to go about this future you seem so intent on having."

After another brief pause and a searching look, he continued when I seemed to be more inclined to listen to him. "Stay in college. Take a part-time course and get your degree because without it, you're not going to get a good job, unless you want to be stuck at a pink-collared job for the rest of your life. If it's the course fees you're worried about, I can help you with that." He held up a hand when I opened my mouth to argue, shaking his head firmly as a sign to let him finish.

"I'm not _giving_ you the money; I'm just paying it in advance first. You can pay it back by installment once you start working, after we work out some kind of repayment schedule that you're comfortable with. In fact, you made a good suggestion earlier by offering to help with our cases. Ric can afford to pay you – although not much, but it should be enough to cover some of your expenses and stuff. So, you can work with us _while_ you attend night classes," he suggested, and I must admit that it all sounded completely doable.

"As for your accommodation, I'm sure even Caroline would agree that it's best if you stayed right here until you finish college and get a full-time job. In fact, you can just rent the room from us even then. This place is huge, Elena, and we have more space than we know what to do with. If it's privacy you want, then we can move you to a different wing where we might not even run into one another for days, even. Seriously, Stef and I welcome you with open arms, legs and clingy fingers if you'll stay. This gloomy place needs a woman's touch and I _know_ Pig would be crazy happy to have another female in the house. Okay?"

_Okay_? He was basically offering me a place to stay rent-free for now, part custody of his dog, and getting to help with his cause while pursuing my degree. I mean, how could I _not_ kiss the guy, right?

Damon was waiting anxiously for my reaction, even swaying side to side in his seated position while raising his eyebrows at me. So, when I lunged at him for a hug all of a sudden, he gave a very visible start until he finally realized that I _wasn't_ about to kick his butt, but merely expressing my gratitude.

"I really don't know what I'd do if you weren't here," I mumbled into his neck as I pressed my face into the warm crook, my arms wrapped tightly around his waist. Leaning up swiftly, I pressed an impulsive kiss on his cheek before pulling back to peer up at his shocked features. "How can I ever thank you enough?"

To my amusement, he seemed to have trouble speaking after my spontaneous show of affection that it took him some time – especially with flushed cheeks – to respond. "Just don't _ever_ give up, Elena," he implored, his expression serious. "Not on your dreams, your ambition, or the idea of finding a man worthy of your love some day. The moment you do, you stop fighting, and that means that the bully wins in the end. Lockwood may have hurt you, physically and even emotionally, but don't let him break your spirit, too. Fight back, Elena, because that's the only way you can show that you're stronger than him. Fight back, because he doesn't expect you to. Fight back, because you want him to pay for what he did to you. Because you're not afraid of him, not anymore."

There are no words to describe that feeling inside me after hearing his impassioned speech. It was a profound moment, because he had such faith in me and what I was capable of. There I sat, my arms still loosely circled around his body, sweating buckets in my yoga pants and an old tee shirt, the sun was beating down on us, but that moment was perfect because I had never felt more at ease with anyone else more than I did with him. And he seemed to be looking at me as if I was the strongest person he knew. And in that moment, I felt it.

"For you, I will," I declared with a nod, smiling when I saw his eyes welling up with pride.

The truth is I'd do _anything_ for that man. If only he knew it.

* * *

_(Damon's POV)_

The weeks passed even more rapidly now that the formerly bed-bound brunette was allowed to be out and about, albeit only within the mansion and its premises due to safety precautions. All too soon, it was already February, a whole month after our first self-defense lesson.

We had been focusing on building up her strength steadily and on a daily basis, working up a sweat as we sparred around the garden, testing her reflexes and developing some muscles into her skinny frame.

Elena had pretty much settled in by now, even claiming the Salvatore kitchen as her own as she insisted on preparing all our meals starting from that sunny New Year's Day. None of us made any complaints, however, as she proved to have rediscovered her love and talent for all things culinary-related. If I had thought that the rest of the gang were around a lot before, now they seemed to have permanently moved in, judging by the amount of time they spent at our house and the fact that they never seemed to leave. Perhaps they have even claimed some of the rooms as their own and made copies of the house keys to keep without my knowledge.

I wouldn't have noticed, or even minded, because I was simply enjoying the company too much to put up a fuss. It was really starting to feel as if we were all just one big happy family living under one roof, and it was precisely the atmosphere that I longed for while growing up without either of my parents, and having to bring up my little bro all by myself.

And as an added bonus, I sometimes found myself in the kitchen way too early in the morning, just sitting on a stool and watching as Elena made a pot of coffee and cooked up a storm to prepare breakfast to feed the gang. And then while yawning and scratching at my scruffy jaw during those few minutes when my brain hadn't fully turned on yet, I could even pretend that I had a gorgeous wife and that I was living the life I had always dreamed about.

That was until the 'wife' started acting like a whiny teenager about not being allowed out of the house. "Am I grounded?" she asked one morning right after I had plopped down on my favorite stool at the kitchen island that provided the best view of the sink as well as the stove where she usually stood.

"No, you're not, but you know Elijah doesn't want you out and about in public, not with that monster still alive and breathing." Of course, I was referring to Lockwood, who remained at large still, no thanks to the pouty woman in front of me.

For the past month, she rarely went out of the house, and the only couple of times that she _did_ go out - both times to the grocery store to stock up on…well, groceries – she literally had armed guards surrounding her. There was Elijah with his trusty revolver holstered on his hip, Alaric and his steely gaze at any man who came within ten feet of my charge, and then there's me; armed with my never-used-before pistol and a guard dog a.k.a. Pig. We were basically three men, a dog and _our_ baby, out against the world or otherwise known as 'the very public place'.

I had never been more stressed out than those two trips to the store, keeping my eyes peeled for a glimpse of the rapist. After the second time, I promptly decided that all shopping of the food variety and any of her female necessities were better carried out by Care Bear and my brother. Those two seemed pretty tight recently, to my utmost but pleasant surprise. I didn't realize they had become such good friends in light of all the Elena-sitting I had been doing.

Elena-sitting; it was kind of like _babysitting_, not the _literal_ meaning of me, sitting on top of her.

"So what?" she countered, bringing my attention back to her and our current argument. "Damon, do you remember that afternoon outside, when you gave me a whole speech about fighting back and being strong against Mason? Well, how should I fight back if I'm just constantly being locked up and surrounded by these walls all the time? You wanted me to live my life, right? How can I live it if I'm not even allowed to go outside?"

Okay, I had to admit that she made valid points. Still, I tried to deflect by deliberately misunderstanding her question. "What do you mean? We go outside _all_ the time, every day for at least a few hours," I told her, feigning a yawn to distract her.

She was not sold, judging by the irritated glare she aimed at me over her shoulders as she mixed some eggs on the mixing bowl. _Hey, I knew what it was called_, I realized with a start. Suddenly, after weeks of hanging around in the kitchen, I finally managed to familiarize myself with the cooking utensils and various apparatus I had seen her using. Go me!

"Yeah, but that's training and it's still within your property!" she volleyed back like the champion debater she was. "I meant _outside_, in the real world, without the heavy security detail. Can't I just have one day, just _one_ day, to spend it however I want? _Alone_?"

I balked as if I had swallowed something nasty, like the charred egg Stefan had once attempted to cook before Elena came into our lives. I couldn't, for the life of me, even remember what we used to eat before she appeared like the Fairy-Godmother of Cooking she is. Anyway, the idea of her traipsing around town, alone and unprotected made me physically ill.

"Not alone, Elena, _never_ alone. Please, it's not that I don't _allow_ you your freedom, but we're all really concerned for you. As comforting as it is to know that you can now defend yourself if need be, I still can't handle the idea of _him_ going anywhere near you or attempting any sort of contact with you. The man's dangerous, you got it? I just don't want you getting hurt, or worse; kidnapped, drugged and killed. The grocery store trips were stressful enough for me, remember?"

The funny thing was that I wasn't even kidding about the stress level on those two occasions. I kept expecting the worst to happen, like a gun firing in the distance to find a dead Elena on the floor, covered with blood, or that I might lose sight of her for a split second and couldn't find her again.

So, I might have an irrational fear of losing her…but what responsible case handler wouldn't?

"I _do_ remember, but if he was going to do anything, don't you think he would have made his move by now? I can't just stay locked up here indefinitely. All I'm asking for is _one_ day! Alright, not even the whole day, maybe just for a couple of hours? Please?" she dragged the last word out like a petulant child throwing a tantrum.

I tried to resist, really I did, but I was not proof against her pleading doe-eyes filled with such hope and anticipation. So I did what any red-blooded American man would do when it came to facing such an irresistible woman; I gave in and offered to accompany her to the ends of the earth if she so wanted. Luckily, her intended destination didn't require a passport or too much mileage on my beloved Camaro.

"I want to visit Anna at the hospital," she had said with a beaming smile.

And what the 'wifey' wants, the 'wifey' gets. Usually.

* * *

(_At the hospital – Pediatrics Department_)

I had never seen her happier. Just the way her skin glowed, the toothless grin that broke upon her small face was enough to make me feel contented.

I was talking about little Anna, who was being fed her lunch by a nurse when Elena and I arrived with a belated Christmas present. Elena had insisted that we didn't show up empty-handed after not being back to see my favorite little girl in months. She had paid for the present herself, with what little money she had left and had chosen a very unique musical instrument for children.

"Merry belated Christmas, Anna!" she announced with a bright grin when the little girl finally managed to tear the wrapping off the box to reveal the present within. "You see, you can record your own songs on the keyboard and you can even play music from the speakers if you wanted. Here, let me show you," she offered excitedly, and proceeded to demonstrate the workings of the toy to Anna.

Watching my two little angels bent over the new toy, one fair-haired, the other a brunette, I studied the startling change in their demeanor around each other as if I was a proud father. In fact, I was perfectly fine with being ignored and even slightly neglected as they bonded with each other in a way that I never could with little Anna. It was then that I knew without a doubt that Elena was meant to be a mother someday, regardless of what she had planned for herself. In my mind, I saw her being surrounded by toddlers instead of rescued strays and feathered friends she was talking about.

"Go on, show Damon what you just played for me," I heard Elena urging the silent girl, who then came over shyly to place her new instrument at my feet. I crouched down low and smiled expectantly at her, ooh-ing and aah-ing at the colorful keyboard as she placed her tiny fingers on the keys. With a brief hesitant look at Elena, Anna then ran her fingers randomly on it, the offkey sound coming out from the speakers accompanied by a preprogrammed disco beat.

Elena exploded into a loud applause and cheered enthusiastically when the music stopped, and I found myself joining in the momentous occasion when I heard Anna's high-pitched giggle for the first time, stunning me with the unexpected sound. Anna had never once spoken out loud or even laughed in my presence before, but I knew that she had once broken her silence when she was with Elena. But now, hearing the happy sound coming out between those tiny lips in person, I was about to sob with happiness and sink down on my knees to thank God for the miracle.

Actually, I should thank God for Elena, for her presence in my life had graced me with _several_ miracles that I never expected to experience. Like my mended relationship with my little brother, or the joys of having our little makeshift family in the house that I used to associate with pain, sadness and death. Now it was a house full of life, laughter and love, and it was all because of _her_.

_My_ miracle.

I was pretty much reduced to a gooey mess by the time Anna grew bored of her toy, and I could only watch helplessly with a ridiculous grin on my face as the little blonde gave Elena's hair a good brushing. "Where long hair?" she asked in an unfamiliar voice at the sight of Elena's much shorter do, her expression one of puzzlement. If I was stunned to hear her laughter, then I was shocked speechless to hear her speak for the first time in my presence.

"You mean '_What happened to your_ long hair?', don't you?" Elena corrected gently, and it reminded me of something only a very maternal person would do. She never treated Anna as if she was a simple-minded child, or a little girl with speech impairment. That was what I loved about Elena. She was just a very natural and loving caregiver. "I had it cut. Don't you like it?" she asked while turning her head from side-to-side as if the girl's opinion was one of utmost importance.

Anna shook her head in an honest assessment, not bothering to spare Elena's feelings. My brunette angel took it in stride, and chuckled merrily before announcing that she will then allow it to grow long again until the child approved.

Before we knew it, we had been at the hospital for four whole hours, all spent laughing and joking among all three of us. Then it was time to go because it was nap time for the child, as reminded by the nurse. Before we could leave, however, Anna reached up towards Elena for a hug voluntarily, and my eyes misted at the sight of the trust and love she held for my girl despite only having met her for the fourth time since I introduced them.

When they finally broke apart, both wearing identical grins on their faces, Anna turned towards me and I watched with astonishment when she placed Elena's hand in mine, as if she was entrusting her new friend to me.

"Happy family," she announced clearly, making both of us exchange a puzzled look as we held hands. Then I almost fell to the floor with shock when she made one more observation, or warning, or whatever the _hell_ it was. "Mason bad man, like Dada, kay?"

I was so sure that my expression was comical then, because my mouth was gaping open, and my eyes must have been huge with apprehension. This little girl knew about Mason? How did she know?

It was downright scary, what just happened, but we couldn't dwell on it then because the nurse appeared again with a disapproving glare at us for taking too long with the girl. It was way past the allowed visitation hours, so with one last parting hug, Elena and I walked hand-in-hand to my car, each of us wrapped in our own thoughts that we had forgotten to let go.

I was still processing everything, from hearing Anna's giggle to hearing her speak for the first time since I met her, and then the unexpectedness of _what_ she said. Even Elena appeared to be pensive, her face turned towards the window with the passing scenery as I drove us home. I would give anything to be able to hear Elena's thoughts right now, but sadly, that nifty little mind trick was limited to Edward Cullen, the fictional broody vampire with hair that could rival my brother's.

I allowed the engine to continue running when we arrived home, neither of us making a move to exit from the vehicle. It felt as if neither of us were able to, after what happened at the hospital that managed to shook us to our core. I felt my phone buzzed silently in my jeans pocket, so I struggled to fish it out in time to see that I had an unanswered call from Caroline, followed a few seconds later by a notification of _two_ unheard voice messages. It was exactly the ice-breaker we needed.

"Mason was with me when I last saw Anna at the hospital, the day I was discharged, actually," Elena said quietly in answer to my unspoken question. "I was saying goodbye to her, and Mason was being himself and was rather rude in her presence. Before I left, she'd shocked me by saying 'Mason, bad man,' out of the blue. That was the first time I had heard her speak, and I told you about it, remember? At the time, I was too excited at hearing her say anything that I didn't realize the implication of what she'd said. I don't know _how_ she could still remember him from before," she said in disbelief.

I understood how she felt, because I was feeling the exact same way. I was right there with her when Anna had said those words again, and yet I was still in shock. "I think children are more astute than we are sometimes, and they see things that adults don't," I began slowly, testing the theory out in my head before I blurted out something that may have sounded like utter rubbish. "Someone like Anna, who is probably more sensitive than other children, could probably pick up a bad vibe off someone like Mason due to her own traumatic past, and that's why she chose that moment to break her silence. I think it was a warning to you."

"Well, then she's officially smarter than me, because it didn't register at the time. See? I _told_ you I was a brainless moron, didn't I?"

I was spared the need to argue when Caroline appeared at the front door of the mansion, her hands placed on her hips, her feet tapping impatiently as she scowled at us, waiting for us to get down from the car. Whoops.

"Umm, Elena," I addressed the woman beside me, understanding finally dawning on me at the sight of the blonde. "I think you better go down and explain to Blondie where we just returned from. We might have caused a slight panic situation with our absence. Just make sure that Elijah hadn't called the whole station to go on a nationwide search for you, huh?"

"Oh, right, but aren't you coming?" Elena enquired as she hastily unbuckled her seatbelt, one hand already on the car door handle.

I gestured to my phone in my other hand, telling her to go ahead first while I checked on my voice messages. As I suspected, the first voice mail had been left by a very distraught Caroline.

"Damon, please tell me you know where Elena is, or at least why she's missing. I came home to find _both_ of you gone, and we're all worried sick! Also, why aren't you answering my call? Are you guys playing hide and seek with us or something? _Please_ call back or I'm calling the cops!" That was her demanding message she had left for me, and I rolled my eyes at her dramatic reaction to _everything_.

I pressed the delete button to erase the message and waited for the last one, where I expected to hear the same screechy voice as before again.

Boy, was I wrong!

I listened in confusion when I heard _Elena's_ voice, wondering just when the hell she could have called me since she no longer had her mobile phone after Lockwood had broken it back in December. I had spent every day with her since then, and she never mentioned anything about leaving me a message, nor did she have a need to. I was _always_ with her.

"Damon, I know that I'm probably the last person you want to talk to right now, and I understand why you're angry at me, but I need to talk you, to explain," her recorded voice had said, making me even more perplexed. _Angry_ at her? When was I ever angry at her? The only time I could think of was-

"I-I care about you, Damon, and knowing that it's all my fault, I –" the voice continued, but then it was abruptly cut off, followed by an ear-splitting sound, as if my phone had been flung against a hard surface, but it didn't make any sense since I was still holding onto it in my hand.

As I continued to listen to the background noise over the ear piece, it suddenly became clear _exactly_ what I was listening to. It was the evidence we were all hoping for, the undisputable proof of Lockwood's crime against Elena. I _should_ be ecstatic that after such a long time of having to accept the fact that he was going to get off scot-free, I now had the perfect opportunity to put him behind bars for a long time.

But I was far from being in a celebratory mood, because I had kept on listening. I heard every single one of Elena's screams, her broken sobs, her pleas for him to stop that fell on deaf ears, _all_ of it. There were also the vivid sounds of what he did to her, lending to my imagination as the scene played in my head like a DVD movie. I could see Elena struggling under him, and then his commanding roar at her to shut up followed by a twig-snapping sound that echoed in my ear. He had slapped her face then; I remembered the bruise on her left cheek and his hand imprint when I found her in a catatonic state in the bathroom.

It was as if it was all happening in front of my eyes, the entire rape scene, and I didn't even realize that I was gripping at my steering so hard, my fingers turned white. I was staring unseeingly out of the car, through my unshed tears as I listened, punishing myself repeatedly as I heard the insults he had hurled at her, her choked pleas of repeated 'No's, her apologies to him even though she'd done nothing wrong.

Lockwood's sneering words at her made my blood boil, especially when he was accusing Elena of cheating on him with me, calling her a slut, his voice getting more and more excited. Then I heard a loud tear, and my mind immediately conjured up the image of her torn shorts I found in that room. My tears spilled out of my eyes as I listened to her wheezing and gasping for breath as he continued to taunt her, demanding that she tell him that she loved him.

Clutching at my heaving chest with one hand, my fingers tightened on my phone, clutching it for dear life until I heard her gulped in breaths again. Despite knowing that Elena made it out alive, I was genuinely worried that he was about to kill her by choking her to death.

Then I collapsed on top of the steering wheel and gave into my own grief when I heard her heart-wrenching scream, presumably when he forcibly entered her without her consent, raping her like the heartless monster he was. I wept for Elena, for the horror she went through, for the darkness she had to endure at the hands of someone she trusted and should have protected her. I cried for her immense strength that made her into the person she became today, being able to laugh and show a child the simplicity of love through a hug, a gentle touch, a kind and genuine smile.

If I hadn't listened to this voice mail, I wouldn't have ever understood just how far she had come, the mountains of obstacles she had overcome by herself. And this was just the tip of the iceberg with her. I was so proud of her then, and my heart swelled to twice its usual size at the thought of my little warrior princess.

Then I heard the three whispered words that rocked my world at that moment, sending shockwaves into my system as I froze in the midst of falling into pieces.

"I…love…_him_," she had croaked while he was still assaulting her.

Belatedly, I just realized that she was no longer begging for him to stop, but rather, had resigned herself to being a victim of rape. She was unable to fight anymore, and allowed herself the freedom of declaring the truth because she no longer had anything to lose.

_She loves me_.

I knew it without a shadow of doubt that her declaration of love for the unnamed man had been me, because it was what I hadn't dared to hope, but secretly did anyway. And it was also because the monster had been accusing her of having feelings for _me_, not any other man. And here it was, the final confirmation that my feelings were mutual, that she loves me. That knowledge gave me a sense of calm that allowed me to sit through the next few minutes of listening to the rest of the recording.

The silence went on even after I was sure everything was finally over and that he had left her alone, because I couldn't hear anything else. I dragged the phone from my ear with a trembling hand, peering at the screen that showed that I had been listening for the past forty minutes. I had no idea how much longer it could go on, assuming that her phone had remained connected the entire time despite the broken screen, and that it could continue until the battery went flat.

I had already heard everything that I needed to hear. I had the evidence in my hand, and the knowledge of her love. It was enough.

Now, it was just a matter of what I was going to do with either of that information.

* * *

**Oooh, I'm excited to hear your thoughts on this chapter. Were you bored to death? Excited for the next update? Wondering what Damon would do next? How his balls were doing? (One's bigger than the other, by the way…) **

**Twitter: cgsa_cher**

**Yoohoo! Beloved beta KRISTI (tukct81)? Are you okay? Do you want to do me any bodily harm? I hope not. Thank you sooooo much, anyway! **

**Random Thoughts: I sometimes YouTube videos of snakes in toilet bowls and adorable puppies. Or I'd watch blooper reels of F.R.I.E.N.D.S. Not sure which one is more enjoyable. **


	19. Chapter 19

**Author's Apologetic and Groveling Note: I am soooooo sorry for not replying to all your wonderful reviews yet. This week was crazy busy for me, work-wise, and I couldn't find the time to reply and write this chapter, even. **

**A thousand apologies to you all, but I WILL catch up on replying to you all after this chapter. I PROMISE! No, I PINKY SWEAR! It's legally binding; ask a lawyer!**

**Just know that I loved and appreciate all your feedback, and I can tell that you were all pleased that Damon now knows how Elena really feels about him. SQUEEE!**

**The question is….what is he going to do about it? Let's find out. :D**

* * *

**A Woman's Worth: Chapter NINETEEN**

* * *

_Damon's POV_

_She loves me_.

That was the mantra I was repeating in my head as I slowly extricated myself from my car, feeling as if I hadn't moved in days. My entire body was stiff and tensed, probably from my emotional outburst behind the wheel while I was so wrapped up in that one voice mail that would change my life and Elena's as well.

With a frown, I thought back to that ill-fated day, wondering just how the hell I could have missed such an important message on my phone. I vaguely remember seeing all the missed calls from Elena that morning, and realize that I _did_ see the notification of an unheard voice mail.

It was precisely the time when I received the frantic call from Blondie, telling me that she couldn't find Elena in the house, and that the front door was left wide open. I remembered being terrified for my girl, and immediately went into panic mode. Knowing that Elena was in danger or worse – dead - proved to be distracting enough to make me forget about the message and everything else.

I just had to get to her and make sure that she was safe. _That_ was all I cared about at the time. And then the days that followed were hard enough to deal with, let alone remembering something as trivial as checking my phone messages. If it was physically possible, I wanted to kick my own balls for missing something as crucial as that - I never realized that the evidence we needed I had all this time.

Maybe I could convince Elena to do the kicking for me instead, since she had a real knack for it.

_Elena_.

What that one-worded name could do to my insides. Just the knowledge that _she_ was on the other side of that door, alive and safe, probably surrounded by people who care about her. Her new family.

And then there's me…the _idiot_ in love with her.

Shaking myself from my stupor, I trudged towards the door, intent on first doing the right thing and getting the evidence of Rapewood's crime to Elijah and making sure that the person who brought a world of pain to my beloved would be severely dealt with. And by severely dealt with, I meant shoving a huge cactus up his ass, stringing him up by his toes and leaving him to bleed to death, or my favorite; throwing him into a pool filled with piranhas and snakes and jellyfishes. Then right when he's on the brink of death, I'd rescue him and throw his bleeding ass in jail.

In summary, I want Mason Lockwood to suffer.

At least, that _was_ my priority until I stepped through the door and caught sight of _her_. My body went into shutdown mode the instant I saw her, smiling and nodding to whatever Blondie was saying as they stood next to the fire-place. The other three men were standing some ways off but it was obvious that they were talking about her, especially with the two Tweedle twins in identical poses with their arms crossed defensively in front of their chests while shooting worried glances at the brunette.

For a long while, I stood under the archway between the foyer and the hall, undecided as to which group I should head towards. On the one hand, the item gripped tightly in my left hand was the most important piece of evidence that should be in the hands of the head detective. But on the other hand, well….oh bloody hell!

I marched right over to the girls, my eyes intent on only one of them, the _one_ girl I couldn't resist at that moment. The phone on my left hand now temporarily forgotten, I allowed myself to succumb to her magnetic pull, my body automatically making its way to Elena as if it had a mind of its own.

"Damon," her smile widened when she saw my approach, and then a tiny frown appeared on her forehead after one good look at my expression. "Hey, what's wrong? Did you-did you get shampoo in your eyes again?"

Her question threw me off for a second before I realized that the shampoo reference was our code for my manly tears that were perhaps still evident on my face, courtesy of my recent breakdown in the car. If anything, that innocent question of hers made my feelings for her intensify even further, knowing just what a caring person she was. How utterly perfect she was.

_She loves me_, I repeated in my head.

She seemed surprised when I didn't respond but instead, just stood in front of her, ignoring the inquisitive looks from Blondie as I searched the warm brown eyes that were now more familiar to me than my own. Without thinking, I wrapped an arm around her narrow waist, pulling her close to me as the other hand reached up to cup her cheek, my thumb stroking her smooth skin tenderly.

I saw the shock on her face when my head slowly descended on hers, giving her time to reject me if she wanted to. Time seemed to stretch on as I brought our heads together, but even _I _wasn't sure if I should pull back and give it more time before I acted on my deepening feelings for this one girl.

This _woman_.

I threw caution to the wind the moment her eyes dropped to my lips for a split second before returning her anxious gaze to mine. That was all the confirmation I needed.

With a groan of surrender, I swooped in and claimed her lips, previous signs of apprehension leaving my body as I melted against her, supporting her weight as she leaned into mine.

_Soft. Warm. Home_.

Those were the only thoughts I was capable of having. It was such a powerful moment because for the first time in my life, I was holding my entire future in my arms and I never wanted to let her go. I was marveling at the fact that she was here and willing, her hand rising to cover my own over her cheek as she returned my ardor. I let out a little grunt as I tilted my head to deepen the kiss, gripping her even tighter against me as I felt her lips parted in a gasp, inviting my tongue in to taste hers.

The previous time when she had unexpectedly kissed me after her nightmare, it felt different; wrong somehow because of the timing and the fact that she was crying. Even if my body had reacted to being that close to her at the time, my mind was shooting off warning signals the entire time.

But _this_ time, it was romantic, poignant and meaningful…. until the commentaries erupted around us.

"Ric, correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think your staff is supposed to have that kind of….interaction with his charge," came the deep voice of Detective Tweedle-Dee, the one who was licensed to shoot me if he so wanted.

"Yeah, we're actually not supposed to, but I can't find it in my heart to stop him. I mean, what if he wants to kiss _us_ in retaliation? Mer would _kill_ me if I start making out with my staff and she's a doctor. She can make it look like an accident and get away with it, too," I heard Ric replied, his voice sounding far away in my hazy mind.

I was lost in my own world, as I suspected Elena was as well, seeing as she was still attached to my body in every single alluring way. I had no doubts that she wanted this as much as I did, considering that I had trained her well enough that she could have sent me sprawling onto the floor by now if she didn't. This was further proof that we belonged together and that I no longer have to hide my feelings in front of her.

A masculine throat cleared in the distance. "So, how long are we supposed to just stand here and watch them make out before it gets awkward?" Elijah wondered out loud. "Shouldn't they come up for air right about now? I'm pretty sure that lack of oxygen is still a major problem for their lungs."

If I had been paying attention, I might have laughed at the comments being tossed around the room, but like Tweedle-Dee had mentioned, I was concentrating on Elena's lips and trying not to come up for air.

"You guys! You're totally ruining the Delena moment," came a feminine whine that could only be from Blondie. "I mean, _look_ at them! _I_ did that, guys. I'm Cupid!"

Somehow, I didn't mind that Care had practically stolen my alter-ego from me with that 'Cupid' reference. I once considered myself playing that exact same role as the adorable flying cherub armed with bow and love arrows when I tried my hand at match-making her with my brother. Well, I officially sucked at it, so she could claim that role as hers.

"Umm, what the hell is a 'Delena' and was it _you_ who convinced kissy-boy there to eat Elena's face off?" Ric's revolted voice came next, not even caring if we heard him at this point. To him, we were clearly too preoccupied with each other to notice their constant mumblings.

Blondie scoffed loudly at his question with an audible 'tsk' sound. "D-E-L-E-N-A, as in Damon and Elena's name smooshed together. You know, their 'ship' name."

"Their _what_ now?" baby bro queried in a puzzled tone.

"Seriously, am I the _only_ one who keeps up-to-date with pop culture references? You old farts should consider getting a tumblr account and keep up with the times, you know?" Blondie exclaimed indignantly. There was an exasperated sigh, followed by the sound of her heels clacking against the floor and then someone sinking heavily onto a chair. "A 'ship' is when you believe that two people belong together and should be in a romantic relationship. Like if Elena's life was a movie, they would be playing Ed Sheeran in the background right now during this epic kissing scene, you know? I mean, those two are so 'fetch', aren't they?"

At this juncture, I could no longer ignore their incessant chattering around us, especially when I was trying to enjoy the tender moment with my girl. With great reluctance, I pulled my lips away from Elena's, the loss of contact bringing forth a disappointed moan from her. It took all of my self-control not to give in and claim her lips again and again, but I forced myself to open my eyes to stare down at the goddess in my arms.

She was exquisite, with her swollen lips and her flushed cheeks a stark contrast against my pale fingers. I have never seen her more beautiful.

"Wow," I whispered as I gazed at her in wonder, watching her eyes fly open at the sound of my voice. I couldn't believe what just happened. Did I just kiss the girl of my dreams? Did she kiss me back? And what was this feeling in my chest, the fluttering emotion that was indescribable but yet so-so-so…

"Wow," Elena echoed softly, releasing her warm breath against my lips as she raised a finger to touch her lower lip that I had been nibbling on a matter of seconds ago. The sight of that plump lip threatened to do me in again, but I checked myself. She was right, though. That feeling in my chest could only be described with that one word because nothing else seemed fitting. It was something I had never felt before with _any_one else.

"Yes, wow! I didn't know that you could hold your breath for so long, Mr. Kissy-face," Elijah mocked in a disapproving tone. "How about you take a long and cold bath and see how long you can stay underwater, huh? We were in the midst of a very important discussion about Elena's request to go out on her own before you rudely interrupted with that skillful tongue of yours," he reprimanded drily.

As I turned to glare at the others, I gathered Elena even closer to me, my left arm circling all the way around her waist as I kept her glued to my side. I didn't think that I'd ever be able to physically let her go again. It just wasn't possible. "How about a little less commentary from the peanut gallery and a little more _skedaddling_ out of here for some privacy, hmm? I need to talk to Elena alone for a minute," I addressed the others calmly.

"Suuuuuuure you do," Blondie dragged out the first word with a bright smile, winking conspiratorially at me while simultaneously elbowing my baby bro in the ribs, oblivious to his painful wince. "_Talking_ would require actual words being spoken, but I'm thinking what you have in mind is a little more of the moaning and groaning variety. Clothing _optional_, of course."

With a roll of my eyes at her blatant enjoyment at my predicament, I kissed the idea of being left alone with Elena goodbye and settled for an alternative that didn't require so many pairs of eyes on us. "Actually, I really _do_ need to have a serious discussion with Elena, and _Elijah_, if you could join us, please? Something's come up with the _case_, and I need to sit down with only the two of you," I explained and my emphasis on the word 'case' was not lost on the attentive detective.

Apparently, Ric caught on before the others did, so he quickly shuffled Stef and Care away despite the blonde's loud objections, leaving only the three of us alone in the living room.

It was time for us to get real.

* * *

Nobody spoke for a long while when the front door finally clicked shut, effectively muffling Blondie's high-pitched voice. Even though whatever was coming next was inevitable, I still dreaded it, as proven when my heart felt heavier with each passing moment.

"Damon? What is it? What case are you talking about?" Elena asked with a worried frown. She could tell that I was getting antsy, no longer in my previous romantic mood.

Turning my head slightly to peer at her, I found myself regretting my next action. I genuinely hated myself for doing this to her, right when she was finally starting to be cheerful again. I knew that it was a kind of _manufactured_ happiness, because she was basically living in denial and burying her troubled past so deep inside her mind that she seemed to have developed a mental block to it.

As much as it pained me to have her listening to the recording again, I knew that it might be _exactly_ what she needed to confront the fact that she _was_ sexually assaulted by her ex, and accept it as truth before she would be able to properly heal. I didn't see any other option but to burst her bubble once more, after a month of living in the safety behind these walls and finally succeeding in making her smile again.

I took in the sight of her radiant skin, still pink from our earlier activity and her expectant expression as she waited for me to respond. _Well, here goes nothing_, I thought.

"Elena, I have concrete proof of what Mason did to you on Christmas morning," I said without any preamble. Before I could elaborate further, Elijah cut in.

"You have _what_?! _How_?" he questioned eagerly.

In all the years I have known this man, I have never seen Elijah quite so animated. His face took on a gleeful appearance, like a kid who finally found a hidden treasure underneath the sand after digging for hours.

"Turns out, I had it all along in the form of a voice mail that Elena left on my phone on that very same day," I said, returning my attention to Elena, a look of confusion on her face. "The whole….," I paused, desperately searching for a word to describe the ordeal that wouldn't make this even more uncomfortable for her, "…..scene was recorded on that message you left for me. Do you remember calling me that day?"

She swallowed convulsively and nodded, her lips parting to gulp in deep breaths. "But-but my phone…he-he smashed it. It was broken," she stammered, her frown deepening even further.

I couldn't bear to see her looking as if she just had the rug swept out from right under her. Perhaps she thought that _that_ part of her life was over, a part of her past that was better left forgotten and unmentioned. She might even have thought that Elijah and I had given up altogether, but now, we were making the issue front and centre again.

"Your _screen_ was broken, but the phone was still working. That message had been waiting for me all this time, and I didn't even realize it until just now, when Caroline left me _her_ voice mail while we were in the car. I heard _everything_, Elena," I told her, gentling my voice when I saw the dread in her eyes.

I didn't want to, but I knew that I had to do it. For _her_.

"Well, let's hear it," Elijah spoke up impatiently. "If that recording can prove that Lockwood raped you, then that's the best news we've had since we found out that the Mayans were rubbish at calculations."

Elena and I both flinched at the use of the r-word, especially when said in that callous way that only a seasoned cop who had been exposed to all sorts of crime would. Callous or not, Elijah was absolutely right; this voice mail was a stroke of luck and it was the _only_ lead we had right now.

Choosing to ignore him, I pulled Elena to stand right in front of me, cupping the sides of her neck as my thumbs grazed across her cheeks comfortingly before I tilted her head up. "Hey," I whispered when she lifted her uncertain doe-eyes to mine. "This is the big break we have been waiting for. We now have _indisputable_ proof against him, and as much as I would like Elijah to just take my phone and run to the nearest prosecutor's office, I wanted you to have a say in the matter. So, the question is….do you trust me?"

That was the million-dollar question, really. She trusted me before; even from the time she first opened her eyes in the hospital. She trusted me when I found her in the bathroom, naked and freezing as she sat there in shock after the attack. And finally, she trusted me when she didn't trust any other man to be in the same room with her. All I hoped for was that she trusted me this time, too.

"Yes."

That was all I needed to hear. I pressed a quick kiss on her forehead and led her over to the couch, pulling her down with me as I sat in the middle of the three-seater. I motioned for the silent Elijah to join me on my right side while I set my phone up to replay the message.

When her voice came through the speakers, her hand crept over my thigh in search for mine, needing some form of comfort. I laced my fingers with hers with my right, while my left hand rubbed her back soothingly as the recording went on. When we got to the point where Lockwood had slapped her, she released a whimper and immediately buried her head into the crook of my neck, trembling violently as I heard her choked gasps.

I cursed inwardly for subjecting her to relive the entire painful experience all over again and for myself, even. The first time in the car was bad enough, but at least I was partly numbed with shock which lessened the blow somewhat. The second time around, I heard every little sound she made in that message, her audible reactions and every one of his cruel words as he abused her in every way possible.

It was pure torture.

I hugged her to my side, my hands cradling her head to my chest as she fell apart, shaking her head in a wordless plea for it to stop. I broke down right along with her, my heart aching, wanting and wishing that I could make it all better somehow. But the recording went on, like a typhoon that consumed everything in its path, leaving behind nothing but destruction.

"I'm sorry, Elena. I'm so so sorry," I mumbled into her hair, my voice raw with the growing lump in my throat.

The moment her scream pierced the air over the speakers, she stiffened in my arms and pulled away, her hands pushing mine away as she stood up hastily. Her face was pale, her cheeks stained with tears as her eyes darted here and there as if she was looking for a way out.

"Elena-"

"No, no, no, no. I can't! I can't listen anymore," she burst out, retreating further away from me until her frantic eyes spotted the staircase - her escape. It dawned on me that she was running, but before I could even call out her name, she had already taken off upstairs.

Intending to go after her, I turned towards Elijah, taken aback when I caught him with red-rimmed eyes and a pained expression. "You ah…you okay?" I asked, my eyes narrowing at my buddy beside me.

"Ah…yeah," he said hoarsely before clearing his throat, turning slightly away to run his palm over his face. "There's something in my eyes."

Uh-huh. A likely story. "Shampoo, maybe?" I quipped, amazed to find that this man was not as detached as I thought.

"Umm…listen," he sidestepped, still avoiding my gaze. "I'll run right over to the phone company and get a copy of that message. With hard evidence like that, there's no defense attorney in the world who can get Mason Lockwood off of rape and assault charges now."

Nodding my agreement, I grabbed my phone, pressing the pause button on the screen and then stood up, shooting a parting remark as I made my way to the stairs. "Just get that monster off the streets and away from Elena."

"Damon," he called out gruffly, stopping me in my tracks as I turned my head to catch his sympathetic eyes. "Take care of her. Tell her that we're all behind her one hundred percent."

I flashed him a tiny smile and nodded. Halfway up the stairs, though, I heard my friend growling to himself.

"Dammit, where's Ric when I need a hug?" That was soon followed by a softer, "I'm fraught."

* * *

_Elena's POV _

I flung myself on the bed as soon as I entered my room, just in time, too, as my legs gave out from under me. I thought that I was making great headway in terms of moving past that horrible day, but in fact, I had just kept it carefully hidden in the deep recesses of my mind. I even managed to fool myself into believing that I was fine, that I was happy.

It was all a lie.

Who was I kidding, really? What did I expect would happen after _everything_ Mason had put me through? That I could carry on as normal as if what happened was simply a bad haircut that I could grow out of? Hearing that voice mail only proved that I _wasn't_ alright. Far from it.

There was a reason why I was unable to talk about the attack itself. It was because I wasn't there. Physically, I was, but mentally and emotionally, I was off in my happy place with Damon. A place where Mason couldn't reach me.

Truthfully, I didn't even really remember what happened _exactly_ except for the obvious main event. So, listening to that recording was a shock to my system, because it didn't feel as if it had happened to _me_. If I didn't recognize my own voice that was screaming and denying Mason, I would have thought that it was some other poor woman. But the horrible truth was, it _was_ me.

And that thought was heartbreaking in itself, because it was as if it _just_ happened all over again. The memories were fresher, doubly painful now, and it was crushing me with its weight.

I could feel my body shaking with sobs as I laid there on the sheets, hugging my favorite bear to my aching chest. I released a loud wail into a pillow, my hot tears staining the covers until I felt someone brushing my hair off my face. I jumped in shock, forgetting that I hadn't locked the door earlier and I was too preoccupied with my own heartache to even hear Damon coming in.

I stared at his blurry figure through my tears, seeing nothing but his dark patch of messy hair as he leaned over me. "No more, please," I begged, afraid that he would force me to listen to the rest of the message. I found myself wishing that my phone had been smashed beyond working condition; that the voice mail never existed; that there wasn't any recording to listen to. Then it would be like it never happened.

"I'm sorry, okay? I wanted to share the evidence with Elijah but I didn't want to do it behind your back," he said patiently. "You need to know what's going to happen next in light of that voice mail being in our possession. Elijah's going to file an official complaint with the State's prosecuting attorney, and they will bring the case to a judge. Chances are, they will press charges against Lockwood based on that message along with the medical report from Meredith. He's going to be hauled into custody really soon, and that's what we want, right?"

I balked at the lengths they were forcing me to go to, with all that talk about lawyers and a judge. Shaking my head firmly, I had to put up my own arguments before this whole thing went out of hand. "That's what _you_ and the others want. _I_ wanted to be left alone, to move on with my life. I need to forget but now I _can't_ because of that damned evidence you're so happy about. I don't want any part of this, Damon! I don't want to keep reliving the worst day of my life over and over again and be reminded of how stupid I was! I don't want to see or hear about Mason ever again, but you can't even let me do that! Why can't you just leave it be?"

"Because you put your trust in me, Elena, and I swore to myself that I was going to protect you from him the best way I know how," he blurted out, his voice raised in frustration. "I can't live my life constantly worrying about whether or not he's going to show up and take you away, or hurt you again. I need to make sure that he's out of your life for good, so that we can live ours the way we want to. I'm doing this because I _love_ you, and because, by some miracle, you love me back." By the end of his impassioned speech, his voice had softened considerably and I could see that he meant every word of it.

It didn't mean that I believed him, though.

"W-what?"

"You heard me," Damon said, reaching up to brush my fringe off my forehead, his eyes following the action. He sounded as if he was relieved to finally say that out loud and no longer had to hide it. "I'm in love with you, Elena, and I know you feel the same way about me."

"But-but….how did you-"I sputtered, seeming to be incapable of finishing my sentences today.

"Know?" he interjected smoothly, once again reading my thoughts and being eerily accurate. "Because you _said_ so. You stopped listening before we could get to the _only_ part of that message that didn't make me want to puke my guts out."

He pulled out his phone again and pressed the play button, ignoring my protests of going through the entire ordeal again. I stuck my fingers into my ears in a childish attempt to avoid listening but he was having none of that. Sitting down on the bed next to me, he pulled me up so that I was face-to-face with him, his fingers curling around my wrists before pulling them away to rest against his hard chest.

I couldn't ignore the harsh words that came out of Mason through the speakers, causing me to struggle against Damon, shaking my head in denial of what I was forced to listen to. Then I heard my own voice, faint but completely understandable.

"_I-I love him." _

I stopped struggling then, my mouth gaping open in shock at my own admission that I had no recollection of, especially in the middle of such a traumatic event. My eyes snapped up to Damon's sky-blue ones and I saw nothing but sincerity, a tiny hint of pride and dare I say it; love.

"I couldn't believe my ears when I heard you say it," he exclaimed in disbelief, looking very much like the kid who just got his favorite toy as he paused the message again. "Did you really mean it? Because I'm not sure that I deserve it, but I need to know."

_Was_ I in love with him? If I was being honest with myself, I would say that I was already half in love with him by the time I was discharged from the hospital. But that would make me the worst person in the world wouldn't it, considering that I still chose to go back with Mason back then?

I actually considered denying everything, perhaps even pleading temporary insanity for the sake of our friendship, but then he looked so damned happy that I couldn't bear hurting his feelings just to spare my own pride. So I gave in.

"You do," I assured him shyly, no longer fighting his hold on my hands anymore. "I just - I never meant to develop feelings for you when I was still with him, because then everything he was accusing me of would be true, right? I _am_ a cheater, like he said. And God knows I fought it for the longest time, but there's just something about _you_ that just….I'm just _happier_ when I'm with you. I don't know what it is, but I blame _you_ for making me a cheater."

"I'm sorry I'm so lovable," he replied with a wide grin, flashing his teeth at me. I would have rolled my eyes if it wasn't true. "I'll try my level best to tone it down. Can you just tell me _specifically_, what it was about me that you found so irresistible? Maybe if I knew, then I'd stop doing it."

It was utterly amazing how I went from crying my eyes out one moment, only to be shocked speechless the next and now I was practically giggling at his humor. It was definitely the power of Damon Salvatore. Only _he_ could make me want to hit him and kiss him at the same time.

"You couldn't possibly be less lovable even if you tried. Anyway, I'm not going to sit here and argue over how irresistible you are." Then a thought occurred to me. "Was that _why_ you kissed me earlier? You wanted to see if I had feelings for you?"

"What? No!" he exclaimed, apparently finding the notion ridiculous. "The kiss was for purely selfish reasons. I've wanted to do that ever since you opened your eyes at the hospital, when I saw your warm brown eyes for the first time. And it got increasingly harder to hold back every time we were together. That kiss just now was after I realized that there was nothing standing in our way anymore; not that jerk, not my brother, and certainly not having to deny my feelings any longer."

At the mention of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and Stefan, my brows furrowed into a frown and I wondered why the younger Salvatore was considered as an obstacle at all. "Stefan? Why him?"

"Ah hell," he sighed and did a little facepalm, as if he didn't intend to share that little nugget. "Why did I even bring him up? It's no big deal, Elena. I mean, I thought it was at one point, but he's dating someone else now. So, he's a moot point, okay?"

I considered his words, and an insane thought occurred to me that he might have imagined an attraction between his brother and me, but I pushed that thought away as soon as it appeared. It was ridiculous and there were no basis to it at all. Also, as Damon said, it was a moot point because apparently, now we were in love with one another.

_Were_ we? I supposed I _was_ on my end, but for _him_? I knew that he cared about me; more than a friend would care for another friend. But _love_? Perhaps he mistook his sympathy for me as something deeper, and the fact that I was depending on him so much made him feel responsible for me.

Perhaps he really _did_ love me, but there are many types of love, aren't there? I couldn't see how he could possibly be in love with me when I was just a poor homeless girl, traumatized and damaged beyond recognition. I wasn't even a _quarter_ of the girl I once was, before everyone I ever cared about either hurt me or left me. I certainly didn't deserve him _or_ his love.

"Don't do that," he warned suddenly, his expressive eyes keen on mine. "Don't over-analyze it and make it something it's not. Whatever you're thinking, you're wrong. You _are_ worth it."

How did he - this mind-reading thing was getting to be really inconvenient. "How do you know what I'm thinking?"

"Because I _know_ you," he responded as he took my hands in his, holding me pressed to his chest. "I fell for you before I even knew the taste of your lips. I fell for the person you were then, and day-by-day, my feelings have grown and is _still_ growing, despite the fact that I sometimes want to tie you to a chair and lecture you for hours to make the right choices. And you need to make the right one now, in regards to Mason Lockwood."

My mood spiraled downwards again at the reminder of what we had been arguing about before we got sidetracked by all the love declarations.

"Look, I know you're just looking out for me, and I appreciate that. But please, can you at least _try_ to understand why I can't testify against him in court? Can you even attempt to imagine what it would be like for me to have to see him again, sitting there and staring at me, knowing what he's done to me? He could probably be replaying it all in his head, enjoying himself."

I hesitated as I tried to envision that scene in a courtroom, surrounded by the media, the entire town I grew up in and the judgmental juries who probably thought that I deserved everything that happened to me.

"I _hate_ him, Damon," I admitted in a small voice. "He ruined my life and I hate him for it. I can't spend another second thinking or talking about him anymore, so _please_, don't make me," I pleaded, tears gathering in my eyes again.

In an instant, his arms were wrapped around me in a crushing hug, my face pressed against his heart. I allowed myself the luxury of his embrace, not knowing when it might all be taken away from me again. Frankly, I was so tired of fighting over the same issues repeatedly, always with the same arguments and different point of views. Sometimes, I wished that I could just close my eyes and forget.

"Okay, let's do it your way. I won't ask you to make a police statement and you don't need to be involved in any of the legal process. But _you_ have to understand that I have an important piece of information about a crime and it is my _responsibility_ to hand it over to the police. Otherwise, I could be charged with obstruction of justice. And since Elijah is the head of the case, he _also_ has a responsibility to ensure the public's safety, so he'd have no choice but to bring it to the State. The only way we could protect you is if we could prosecute without involving you at all, so you'd remain anonymous. I'm not sure how it would work without your testimony, but with that voice mail, it should be enough to get rid of Lockwood for some time, at least."

Hearing that made my entire body go weak with relief. My cheeks rubbed against his chest as I nodded eagerly, pleased that we had come to a mutual agreement. I was okay with whatever Damon and Elijah decide to do to Mason as long as it didn't involve me. It meant that I could focus on healing without the added stress.

I wanted so badly to heal, to not be afraid again.

"Thank you," I whispered sincerely, grateful for his presence in my life.

One of his hands reached around to tilt my head up, leveling me with his intense stare. "You're welcome," he murmured. "But I need you to promise me one thing."

At this point, I'd agree to give him my kidney if he should ask for it, especially when I was so captivated by his mysterious eyes, weaving their magic on me. If I didn't have any feelings for him before, I would have fallen hook, line and sinker right then.

"Anything," I breathed out, oblivious to what I had just agreed to.

"Good, because this weekend, _we_ are going on a road trip to Richmond."

A road trip? To _Richmond_? Cowabunga, dude! "What's in Richmond?" I asked eagerly, wanting the weekend to arrive as soon as possible.

"There's a support group called the Unsilenced, and they organize a meeting for their members every week. I want you to join them this weekend," he said quietly.

"And what do they support?"

From my wary tone, he knew that I was about to pass on that road trip idea and settle for sending his body parts there instead, piece by bloody piece. "It's a support group where survivors of abuse unite and share their experience," he explained hesitantly, but before I could object, he hastened to elaborate further.

"I know, I know, you don't want to talk about it, but maybe you'll change your mind after you hear their stories. Their members are just like you, Elena. They are all survivors, and some of them have been in abusive relationships far longer than you have. It was hard for them to open up at first, but then they found the courage and once they did, they realized that they were _not_ alone, and there are so many others in the same boat, all feeling what they're feeling. I'm just asking you to go and listen, nothing more. At the end of that meeting, we'll go and have a meal, tour the town a little bit and be back here in time for dinner."

As much as I wanted to object on principle alone, because I really didn't like it when other people made plans for me without my consent, I had to admit that I was rather curious about this Unsilenced group. Maybe I could learn something from their stories that would help me to move on from my own nightmare.

"Well?" he prompted, unable to take my silence any longer.

Giving in with an exaggerated sigh, I shrugged my shoulders as if I was doing him a huge favor by being cooperative. "If it means that much to you, then fine. But you better make sure that we do the touristy thing! And _I'm_ picking the music for the trip," I warned, knowing how much he detested anyone fiddling with the sound system in his Camaro.

"That's my girl," he beamed approvingly, appearing to be as excited as I was for the private time away from the mansion and our friends. Then, his gaze slid down to my lips and I braced myself for an onslaught of emotions that accompanied his kisses, as I recently discovered.

Our lips joined again, gently, slowly, as if we had all the time in the world. Even though I was prepared for it, the excitement that ran through my body was still spine-tingling. I let my eyes squeeze shut, allowing my mind to wander and imagining us in a different setting, a different time. No matter where my mind brought us, the fact remained that I was head over heels for this man.

This man who could make me forget my own name with just a single touch. He invoked feelings within me that I thought were non-existent, the kind of joy that I only ever witnessed with my parents. And now that it was happening to _me_, I couldn't help but to wait for the other shoe to drop.

For now, though, I let myself enjoy the stolen moments I had with Damon. It felt natural kissing him, even when he brought both his hands up to cup my neck, one of them buried deep into my hair, his fingers tangling into the curls. His head tilted suddenly, his nose smashed painfully with mine but I didn't mind, because the new position allowed us to explore each other's mouths even deeper.

Without realizing it, my quivering fingers lifted of their own accord, running up and down his firm chest through his shirt, until they brushed against the buttons on his shirt. Within seconds, they were undone, and I was touching his bare chest like I was that night in this very room. Belatedly, I realized that we were no longer sitting upright, but we were pretty much horizontal on my bed, with me straddling his hips as I leaned over him.

Whoops.

I lifted my head in a panic, pushing myself up and off his chest, breathing heavily from our make-out session. He was gasping for breath as well, his heavy-lidded eyes filled with desire, watching me. His lips were parted, swollen and red as I suspected mine were as well.

"I'm sorry. I-I'm not ready, I mean, it's too soon. I _want_ to, but I can't," I apologized nervously, feeling silly that I had let it get that far. But one doesn't simply kiss Damon Salvatore and not get swept up with desire. It was impossible.

"I know, and I don't expect anything. Sorry, I didn't mean to let it get that far," he whispered, still breathing heavily as well. "But _kissing_ you…I just couldn't control myself. You're one dangerous woman, Elena Gilbert. You and your lips should come with warning labels." He sat up and put a safe distance between us, fastening his shirt back up again as we stared red-faced at each other.

It just got a whole lot more awkward between us, and I don't recall ever being that shy or as self-conscious around him. Things just seemed a lot more complicated now, so I just had to ask. "What are we doing, Damon? What is _this_?" I asked, my forefinger pointing back and forth between the two of us.

He swallowed before answering. "Well, I'm hoping that this is a new beginning for us, one that would hopefully last an eternity and resulting in us sitting in identical rocking chairs next to each other, holding hands and laughing at our gray hairs," he said with a hopeful smile. "And if we're lucky, we might even find ourselves surrounded by _our_ grandchildren, a couple of dogs and maybe even some cats. We could live on a farm somewhere, and not tell our friends where we live so that they can't come over and eat all our food." His description of a possible future was accompanied by a wiggle of his thick brows, showing just how playful he was.

My heart swelled at the picture he painted for us, a future I hadn't dared to imagine for myself, not until now.

"I'm sorry," he apologized with a sheepish smile. "I'm not insane, I promise. You know how I tend to ramble on when I get nervous and uncertain, right? I assure you that I don't actually have all that planned out, not when we're only just at the beginning of a relationship."

"So, that means-?" I prompted.

"That means we're dating….I think. It's been so long since I actually went out on a date that I might have forgotten how it works. Tell you what; as soon as I run a quick check with Ric, I'm taking you out on a movie date. We can watch a chick flick for all I care, just as long as I get to hold your hand while you steal my popcorn," he teased mischievously, and I couldn't help but to chuckle right along with him.

A date with Damon. I could agree to that.

I beamed happily as our eyes met and held. There were so many things we could communicate with our eyes, so many things left unspoken. But it could all wait, because we had a whole future to discover. His gaze darkened once again while we stared at each other, and soon, we found our heads moving closer once again. Just when my eyes slid close, his phone rang, interrupting our moment.

Damon peered at the screen and with a roll of his eyes, answered the call. "And how may I help you, Care Bear?" he greeted the caller with flushed cheeks, looking like he had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

I tuned out of his conversation and allowed my eyes to peruse every single detail of his face, marveling at how utterly perfect God had made this one man, and then I took in his magnificent physique, admiring the way his lean and toned body looked in black. With his dashing good looks and charm, he could easily have a career as a model or an actor. His physical attributes aside, he was also blessed with a compassionate heart, and I found that _that_ was his most attractive trait.

"What if I said that it's none of your business?" I heard him asking, and then he hastily pulled the phone from his ear when a shrill laughter sounded from the speakers.

"You're kidding, right? _Of course_ it's my business!" the piercing voice that belonged to my best friend said. I gave an inquiring look at Damon but he only shook his head and pressed the phone to his ear again.

"Fine, be here at seven."

That was all he said before he tossed the phone away as if it was a poisonous snake. Sighing wearily, he flashed a contemplative look over at me, pursing his lips thoughtfully. "In a nut shell, we're both screwed because the gang wants to know everything that happened earlier including the aftermath of, and I quote, "the long-awaited kiss of the century", and now we have to prepare a dinner for seven people, because guess who's coming to dinner?"

"Umm, the gang?" I answered accurately because it didn't take a genius to take an educated guess.

"Bingo!" he exclaimed with a snap of his fingers. "I guess our afternoon's all planned out, huh? I guess we'll be sweating and toiling in the kitchen until dinner. You'll be the head chef and I'll be your sous-chef, so feel free to put me to work. I'll _try_ not to screw things up too badly and accidentally mistake all my fingers for sausages or something. You in?" he asked as he hopped up from the bed enthusiastically and waited for me to join him.

Even though he made it sound as if cooking together would be a potential catastrophe, I still couldn't say no, not when he seemed so enthusiastic about being useful in the kitchen. With a shrug, I stood up, muttering loudly about slave-drivers and gluttony being one of the seven deadly sins. I started making my way out of the room but was immediately halted when Damon said my name in a displeased tone.

"Elena!"

"What?" I turned back, a puzzled expression on my face. What did I do _now_?

"Hand," he said simply, holding out his arm to me.

Still very much confused, I held my palm faced up to him, not knowing what to expect. With an approving nod and a wide grin, he covered my hand with his and laced our fingers together, pulling me beside him as we made our way downstairs together, hand-in hand.

I was fighting to wipe the smile off my face for the rest of the day.

* * *

**Twitter: cgsa_cher**

**KRISTI (tukct81), have I ever mentioned how much I appreciate you as my wonderful sounding board and beta? If not, I should shower you with bunny-shaped chocolates until you can't even see your bed. COOL? REALLY, FELLOW READERS, KRISTI DID SOOO MUCH FOR THIS CHAPTER, I CAN'T EVEN TELL YOU! Everybody, please send her your appreciated kisses and hugs!**

**Random Thoughts: I have this irrational fear that one day, my ass is gonna get bitten by a snake in my toilet bowl. OUCH. Advice: Look where you pee! **

**Also, R-E-V-I-E-W if you don't want to experience that!**

**THANK YOU FOR READING. :)**


	20. Chapter 20

**Author's Note: So I'm all caught up on replying to all my reviewers. *skips happily across the chapter* **

**So I'm in a silly mood. And you know how I get when I'm feeling silly. *wide grin with a sparkle in my eyes***

**Ooh, major props to bibi 13ca and Layla Reyne for their valuable legal input and suggestions. You guys really rock!**

* * *

**A Woman's Worth: Chapter TWENTY (Didn't I once say that this story would only be 10 chapters or less? WHAT THE FUCK was I thinking?!)**

_Damon's POV_

_Mmmmmm._

Whoever said that having sex was better than kissing had obviously not been kissed by Elena Gilbert before. Her lips were my drug; I could never have enough of them. Right now, they were driving me insane, drawing me to them like a moth to a flame, except that _I_ was the flame because one simple touch from her could set me on fire and send me sky-rocketing towards the stars.

She tasted better than chocolate-covered strawberries, and this coming from someone who has been in a long-term relationship with chocolate ever since my Mother once made the grave mistake of mixing some into my milk bottle. She could never get me to drink plain boring milk again.

But then I fell in love with Elena and her lips, and now chocolate milk will never compare, or even be in my top five lists of favorite tastes again. That list now consists of her warm lips, her tongue, her finger, her cheek and _ohhh_, her skin in general.

As one-half of a newly dating couple, it was probably not that far-fetched to be canoodling with my girl in the middle of the day, in my own backyard and on the ground. As her case-handler and self-defense instructor, kissing her in the middle of a sparring session probably would be frowned upon, or even forbidden altogether. At this moment, I just had to find the strength to set my priorities right and…

_Oh dear God, what was that move she just made with her tongue…..? _

_Mmmmmm. _

I decided right then that I was a boyfriend first and overprotective instructor second, right when her body curved around mine, molding itself to every inch of my length and pressing against my _very_ alert nether region.

She moaned when I released her sweet mouth, allowing her to breathe while I trailed my lips down the length of her sexy neck, licking madly on her sweat-slicked skin that made her sink her fingers in my hair, pulling me even closer to her. Nibbling my way down the side of her neck, my exploring tongue found the faint scar on her sensitive skin near her collar bone, the set of teeth marks left behind by her evil ex that was more effective in dampening my ardor than a bucket of cold water with ice cubes.

"Nooo, don't stop," the stimulating girl in my arms protested when I lifted my head to peer down at her skin, flawless other than the visual reminder of what she had been through and why we were outside in the first place. "Want more kissies," she pouted adorably, effectively warming my heart at the level of comfort between us now, just barely a week after we declared our feelings for each other.

That's right. Elena Gilbert, my girlfriend. My sweetie pie. My one true love. The mustard to my hot dog.

That came out wrong.

Shaking my head firmly, I pressed one last kiss on her pouty lips and then reluctantly got up onto my feet, pulling her right up with me, brushing the leaves and grass from her messy hair from our amorous tumble on the ground. "No more _kissies_! We're supposed to be training, okay? I'm supposed to attack you and teach you how to fend me off," I admonished in a stern voice, ignoring the healthy glow of her cheeks and the redness of her full lower lip I had been sucking on only moments ago.

"But you _were_ attacking me! So maybe it was with your lips but I _did _learn something. I learnt that if all else fails, I could just kiss my attacker and distract him, see? In my book, that's a win-win situation all around," she insisted while straightening her tank top.

I never realized before but this was the first time in months that I had seen her wear something sleeveless and a little more revealing. Okay, so maybe not exactly revealing in a sexy way, but for one thing, her arms and shoulders were exposed and the sporty top clung to her petite frame more enticingly, as opposed to the shapeless tee shirts she usually wore ever since Christmas. Perhaps this was why I didn't even notice the scar on her neck since the day I found her naked in her bathroom; because I couldn't see it and she had kept it well hidden…until now.

It made me wonder what _else_ she was hiding from me, covered up behind her clothes. It made my blood boil just thinking of the bruises or scars that marked her perfect body. That's when I swore to myself: Never again will another man lay a hand on her. _Never_.

"Come on, let's focus on your kicks for ten minutes and then we'll switch to punches. Go ahead, give me all you've got," I said, sounding more gruff than I had intended. Her face fell when I failed to give a rejoinder to her playful teasing and I immediately regretted my tone, but I was simply trying to help her to protect herself.

Without a word, she put her serious mask on and concentrated on kicking the crap out of the shield pad I was holding to bear the brunt of the impact before switching over to a pair of focus mitts to take her punches. Her skills and strength had improved tremendously and I actually had a hard time taking the ferocity with which she tackled these self-defense lessons. She was quick on her feet, determined and looked downright hot as her brows furrowed in concentration. I was so proud of her and I wanted her to know it.

"You're doing great, you know?" I complimented sincerely as soon as we had stopped, watching her with pride as she gathered her damp hair into a ponytail, sweat dripping from every pore of her body. It was hard to resist her but I managed….barely. "I'm so proud of the way you handle yourself, Elena. You're focused, you're fast, and you've basically mastered all the right techniques. Now all you need to do is to make sure that you can think fast on your feet and watch your opponent's actions so that you can counter-act before he can even get close to you. Take him by surprise and all that."

She nodded in response and tilted her head slightly, pursing her lips thoughtfully. I could see the wheels turning in her head and that was proven when I saw the glint in her eyes.

"Okay, why don't we put that to the test, then? You attack me – no holds-barred – and I will try my best to defend myself or at least catch you off guard enough to escape. What do you say?" she asked with an arched brow.

A challenge? A _physical_ challenge where I was obviously the more experienced one, not to mention the _bigger_ one in size?

Piece of cake.

"Challenge accepted. But are you sure you don't want me to hold back _just_ a little? I mean, I don't want to hurt you or anything," I threw back with my very own cheeky grin, intentionally taunting her with my next offer. "It'll be too easy, even. If you want, I can do it blindfolded or even with one arm tied behind my back."

Rolling her eyes at me, she let her wide brown eyes rove up and down my body as if she was checking out the merchandise. Oh the nerve of that girl! "Oh no, I want your _entire_ body in this with me, _every_ single part of that fantastic physique, every…._muscle_. I'm _all_ in if you are."

I stiffened at her sultry tone, uncertain if we were still talking about our sparring challenge or something else entirely. I hadn't allowed myself to even think about the 'something else', not when we just started dating without even going out on an actual date yet. But there was just something in her voice that definitely made my mind wander towards the naughty side of my brain, and now some other part of me was stiffening, too.

"Tell you what; let's make this interesting," she went on when I didn't seem capable of responding. "The winner gets to call the shots tomorrow during our trip to Richmond, and the loser has to obey without putting up a fuss. I mean, depending on the winner's instructions, the loser might end up as a winner, too." By now, her voice had gone so low that I was struggling to even hear her but then she moved much closer to me, her lips merely an inch from my ear as she whispered, "Just saying."

Gulping audibly, I tried to maintain my cool and drag my mind out of the gutter which was difficult, since the imagined gutter was so damn deep and filled with lots of enticing images. In all honesty, I wanted to drag _her_ down into it with me and stay there until we were both well and truly spent from all the sweaty, hot, hungry sex we'd be having.

"How do we-" I cleared my throat when my voice came out all squeaky and high, feeling my face warming up when Elena chuckled at me. "How do we decide who's the winner?"

"The winner will be the one who pins the loser down and walks away," she explained with a sly smile and looking oh-so-sure that she would win. Time to knock her self-confident ass down a peg or two.

"Fine. Are you ready?" I asked as I got into position of a boxer, crouched down low with my fists up in front of my face.

The cheeky brunette arched an eyebrow and asked, "Are _you_?"

My lips curled into a sneer and then I lunged at her, moving forward and backwards quickly as I looked for an opening, blocking her well-aimed kicks and timely punches. She held her own well enough, but then I was better at anticipating each and every one of her moves before she even made them. To be honest, I held back a little, wanting her to learn from this exercise and maybe even allow her to think that she was winning. But of course, I wouldn't _actually_ let her win. I did have a reputation to protect, after all.

I must have missed a handful of chances to knock her down before I finally saw the perfect opportunity and took it. She was aiming a kick towards my stomach, and it would have been a powerful one, too, except that I managed to narrowly evade it just in time to grab hold of her foot and twist it hard enough to make her lose balance. She landed hard on the grass on her bottom with a loud "Ooof", and seconds later, I was straddling her hips with my legs hooked behind her knees and pinning her arms down above her head.

"I win," I declared triumphantly, breathing heavily from the workout as I gazed down at her flushed face. Her chest was heaving from exertion, and I watched, transfixed, while her breasts rose and fell in time with her breathing.

"And I welch," she announced while I was distracted, giving me no chance to brace myself when she mashed her lips against mine roughly, hungrily. I was left powerless against her sudden assault, reacting instinctively with my heart rather than using my head to even consider this as one of her diversion tactics.

_I am a man and I am a flawed one at that_.

With her warm lips sliding sensuously on mine, I released her wrists to slide one arm under her neck to cradle her head, aligning our mouths to deepen the kiss while the other slid down to her waist and squeezed it tightly, drawing a low moan from her. As soon as her lips were parted, my tongue delved in to wrestle with hers, mimicking our sparring moves as I tasted her fully and then drawing her tongue to explore my own mouth.

I was so lost in the moment that it took me sometime to realize that she had rolled us over so that I was now lying flat on my back with her writhing erotically on top of me as she kissed me senseless. If there was ever a time when I regretted being a gentleman, it was then.

"And Damon?" she mumbled, her lips still attached to mine. I released a grunt in response, not capable of any coherent thought except not wanting to separate from her romantic mouth, not when her upper and lower lips were sucking on my lower one, pulling at it with her teeth. Without planning to, my hands lowered of their own accord to grip her hips, holding her firmly as I rubbed myself against her lower abdomen, wringing another low moan from her.

One minute we were practically eating each other's face off and the next she was on her feet and standing over me, chest heaving with her hair wildly mussed and her clothes in disarray.

"What is it?" I panted, confused at the abrupt change of position and still aroused as hell.

"N-n- nothing," she denied uneasily, her eyes glued to my lower body. I wasn't certain but I could have sworn that I could see a flash of fear on her face right before she rearranged her features and dragged her gaze to look up at me. "I just wanted to tell you that _I'll_ be driving the Camaro tomorrow, you know, since I won and all," she announced dismissively as she tidied herself up, now looking completely unaffected by our intense hip action just seconds ago.

Also, she_-what_?!

"What?" I echoed my own thought, struggling to sit up despite my tingling crotch. "I thought _I _won!"

Shaking her head, she gazed down at me apologetically. "That's what I _made_ you think. You were entirely too cocky for your own good, declaring yourself as the winner prematurely. If you remember correctly, I _did_ say that the winner would be the one who pins the loser down _and_ walks away. And here you sit, on the ground, watching helplessly while _I_ walk away."

With a smug expression, she turned away in slow motion, wriggling her pert little behind as she took her first step. Before she could make another, I had already hooked my foot around her ankle, tripping her up and sending her sprawling into my lap with a scream. "Now we're _both_ on the ground and nobody's going anywhere," I teased, laughing at her shocked expression.

The instant she realized what's going on, she started shrieking with laughter and squirming to get free, her hips digging deliciously in my lap. "You keep at it and I'll show you _exactly_ how cocky I can be," I told her with a smirk, effectively halting her motions as she stared down at my upper thighs, wide-eyed and wary.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to tease you or make you…umm…uncomfortable in there," she whispered to my crotch, her expression one of guilt.

She looked so genuinely apologetic that I couldn't help but to chuckle at this one girl who could turn a passion-filled moment into a comical one just as easily as she could vice versa. I felt so overwhelmed with love for her that I couldn't help but to wrap my arms tightly around her in a bear hug and pressed my lips against her temple while I leaned backwards until we were both lying on our backs.

"We have to stop kissing during our training sessions," I announced much later, after several peaceful minutes of us simply enjoying the sun with her head on my shoulder, my arm around her back as she curled her body to my side.

"Yes, we should," she agreed before adding, "in theory." She tilted her head up and flashed me a knowing look before sighing in defeat. "You're absolutely right, of course."

"I always am," I declared arrogantly. "But in this case, I _hate_ being right. And I don't know if I can stop myself. God knows I've tried, but you're entirely too irresistible for your own good. I'm thinking that I should get the other guys to train you instead, like Ric or Elijah."

Elena scrambled to sit up and gaped at me in alarm. "What? You're actually _serious_? You'd let other guys lay their hands on me and get physical with me?"

Well, now that she put it _that_ way, it sure didn't sound as great an idea as when it first occurred to me. But still, these were my buddies, my Tweedle twins. They'd protect my girl with their lives. "I wouldn't have suggested them if I didn't trust them. My buddies are trained, and I know they would never hurt you. I'll keep watch the _entire_ time and I can assure you that they won't force you to do anything you're not comfortable with. I can't train with you anymore, not if we'd just end up making out all the time. This is _important_ to me, Elena," I stressed, working my eye-magic on her that seemed to work most of the time.

With a defeated sigh, she slumped back onto my chest and wrapped an arm tightly across my waist, giving in to my request. "Okay, if you think it'll help, then I'll do it," she said. "I wonder how they'd react to my kissing tactic, though. Would it be considered wrong to slip Ric some tongue action in the name of self-defense? I mean, what would Mere-"

With a low growl, I immediately rolled Elena over so that she was now trapped under me, receiving my wrath at her inappropriate suggestion. "Why, you little infuriating….beautiful…..sexy….naughty…." I snarled between kisses, drawing continuous giggles from the little vixen. "Screw training. We're gonna go with guns. I'll teach you how to point and shoot, and the good news is, I wouldn't _dare_ go anywhere near your lips if you have a gun in your hand. Win-win," I muttered against her lips.

"Really?" she gasped, her doe-eyes widening in surprise. "Weren't you afraid that I'd shoot you with your own gun so that I could inherit your dog and Stefan?"

"Oh well, what's life without a little risk? Sometimes, taking risks can be good for you. Sacrifice a little and get a whole lot in return. Besides, I bet you'd look smoking hot with a gun," I teased, imagining her in an Angelina Jolie-esque garb in Tomb Raider.

"Sounds like a great plan! Don't you just love it when we mutually agree on something?"

Nodding slightly, I breathed her in, letting her scent wash over me as I fell back under her spell, all thoughts of the guys, the training and the lateness of the hour forgotten. "Agree on this," I whispered right before I claimed her irresistible lips, smothering her giggles again. And again. And again.

* * *

After an indecent amount of time spent frolicking with Elena in my backyard, I sent her upstairs with strict orders to take her shower, get changed and return back downstairs pronto so that I could hold her hand while we waited for the rest of the gang to show up for our Family Night.

It was a Friday night thing that we do every week, and basically consisted of all seven of us having dinner and then a round of silly games before we all retire for the night. Actually, now that I thought about it, our Friday nights ritual sure sounded a lot like our Monday nights, Tuesdays, et cetera.

That was part of the reason why I was practically skipping into the kitchen through the back door, intending to hop into my own shower and be back downstairs before Elena was done with hers. My carefully laid plans, though, were spoiled when I caught sight of two very annoyed-looking gentlemen, drinking some kind of beverage on my kitchen island.

"Well, thank God the training's over! It was like watching porn….except with clothes," Ric shuddered as soon as he saw me. "I feel all dirty now, no thanks to you and your-"

"Girlfriend?" I hurriedly interjected, loving any and all opportunities to use that word in regards to Elena. Just using it to describe her relationship with me gave me all sorts of tingly feelings all over my body. Yup, I was whipped and I wasn't afraid to show it. "It's okay, Ric, you can say it. Elena is my girlfriend now and we are allowed to lock lips once in a while. Hell, if I could stomach watching you and Mer going at it like bunnies when you guys first started dating, you can handle watching me and my girlfriend exchange fluids."

Not to be left out, Elijah jumped in right after him. "That's _three_ times he's mentioned the g-word in a single breath. And, this is after that intense make-out session of not needing to breathe!"

"Ahh, oxygen is overrated! I'm trying to cut back on those pesky O2s, anyway," I grinned with a teasing roll of my eyes. When they both seemed positively aghast at my insanely good mood, I had to reassure them that I was the same Damon Salvatore they both know and love. "Come on, guys! I'm finally at the point of my life where I'm actually happy. I got the girl, Stef and I are all brotherly again, and Anna even started talking again; things are going great for once so why can't you two be absurdly pleased for me?"

The Tweedle twins exchanged a look and sighed simultaneously before walking around the island to enclose me into a big threesome bear hug, catching me by surprise. They weren't usually so physical in showing their love, but I'd take what I can get. At this point, I could even burst out singing 'Love Is All Around Me' by Wet Wet Wet. Well, if I thought that I could get away with it without having my buddies laughing till they were red in the face, then I would.

"We _are_ insanely happy for you, Dee Dee," Ric offered to placate me, although using my hated nickname sure wasn't earning him any points. "We're just worried that you two might be moving too fast right now, especially with recent events and all."

The three of us were still hovering in a loose embrace, but that didn't stop Elijah from acting all father figure-type to the brunette upstairs. "Yes, and since Elena doesn't have a parent to look out for her, I'm going to have to step in and ask you what your intentions are with her, and whether you're being careful with the whole….umm, love thing, as in making it," he stammered uncomfortably, seemingly embarrassed to even be considering his best friend and a young lady having S-E-X.

Good God, did I just spell that out in my head? Did someone press the re-virgin-izing button on me? And yes, I realize that I just made up a new word, but I was so caught off guard by the whole Elijah acting-like-my-girlfriend's-father thing. It was rather….sweet. _Disturbing_, but really sweet.

"In other words, what Elijah's trying to ask is…do you wrap your willy before you two get silly?" Ric summarized, preferring to be less wishy-washy.

The direct approach wasn't exactly helping, either. "Uhh, we-uhh-we haven't exactly-I mean, we're just barely star-that is, I didn't-I don't intend to make with the whole love thingy," I stuttered like a foolish teenager who just hit puberty. Hell, I'll bet that thirteen year-olds were so much smoother than _I_ was!

"Why, Elijah, did our friend just use every single word in the English language to announce that he hasn't had sex with his girlfriend yet? That is just too _cute_!" a laughing Ric declared, appearing to find pleasure with my sex life, or lack thereof.

Next thing I knew, my cheeks were being pinched and my hair affectionately ruffled. I hate it when my best friends go all touchy-feely on me, especially when I can't seem to return to the favor; one was armed and the other had no qualms crossing the 'friend-line' at times, making me uncomfortable with his questionable sexuality.

"Come on, guys," I pleaded, lowering my voice as I cast a furtive look about us in case Elena came back and overheard us. "You can tease me all you want when we're alone, but I don't want Elena to think that I expect anything from her. What we have now…it's beautiful, it's magical and it's more than enough for us. We don't need to have S-E-X to prove that we love each other. It's more about our _emotional_ connection than anything else right now."

"Uh huh," Elijah deadpanned, "the grass outside were all _flattened_ by the weight of all your heavy emotions, is that it? It had nothing whatsoever to do with all that dry humping you guys were doing?"

My face broke into a goofy grin at the reminder of our supposedly stolen moments earlier.

"That's it, our boy's gone again!" Ric quipped the second he caught my dreamy expression, smacking Elijah's shoulder as punishment. "You just _had_ to bring that up again, hadn't you? I don't think he even cares about the Lockwood case update right now."

That casual mention of Elena's ex managed to shake me off my stupor when nothing else could. Immediately, my eyes went straight to Elijah, pinning him down with my anxiousness. "Wait, what update?"

Taking a moment to collect his thoughts, I watched my friend making his way back to the bar stool he recently vacated to down his drink before launching into his explanation. "Well, I talked to a friend of mine in the District Attorney's office, and he thinks that we have a pretty decent case to prosecute Lockwood with, provided we combine the rape charge together with his history of violence towards Elena. A stand-alone rape case can be tricky when it comes to people in a long-term relationship, so it'll help if we can also show that he could have threatened her with the loss of a home or financial support, as it might seem in Elena's case."

"A _decent_ case?" I queried, frowning at the use of the word. "I thought with that voicemail, it's pretty much a slam dunk scenario, isn't it?"

"Not exactly," he replied with a shake of his head. "It's a pretty crucial piece of evidence if it's also supported by the victim's testimony, but since too much time has passed since the actual event, we'll need other supporting details, like proof that the call originated from Elena's phone. It would have been better, too, if we had played that recording for the first time to her in an interrogation room where her reaction could be taped. But in any case, we can use it as leverage; we play it for Lockwood and threaten to leak it to the public and use it in an evidentiary hearing in front of a judge. With any luck, he'll agree to enter a guilty plea, if only to avoid the press that goes along with an actual trial."

It took me a while to process all that. All I heard was that there was a chance that the monster may not even make it to trial if he refused the plea deal, and if the judge didn't find sufficient evidence to convict him of the crime during the evidential stage. It all seemed a little uncertain to me.

"What can we do to increase our chances? Meredith can testify to the history of violence and provide all the medical documents to support it, and Caroline and I can be witnesses to the condition we found Elena in that day. There has to be something we can do to help, to speed things up, right?" I asked, feeling my heart sinking at the news.

"Well, yeah, sure there are. But our best bet would still be Elena's testimony," he insisted. "We still have a good case without her especially with that message, but if we can get her account of the rape and the abuse she suffered at his hands prior to it, it would be pretty straight-forward."

I was already shaking my head before he was done talking. I made a promise to Elena that she wouldn't be involved in any of it if I could help it, and I intended to keep it. "No, I'm not asking Elena to do anything she doesn't want to. She _told_ me she doesn't want to be involved in any part of this, so I won't ask her to be. Do what you can with what we have, but she's staying out of it. I gave her my_ word,_" I stressed, my resolve evident to both men.

"Alright then," Elijah said thoughtfully, "I'll talk to the DA and try to get them to set an arraignment as soon as possible, next week at the earliest. I'll take care of it, Damon."

"Take care of what?" a soft voice came from behind us.

All three of us whirled around just as Elena hesitantly stepped into the kitchen, freshly showered and dressed for Family Night. Nothing prepared me for the sight of her in a sleeveless white dress for a change, a hint of cleavage exposed by the vee of her collar. The hem of her dress hit a few inches above her knees, elongating her legs even more than usual. It was the first time I've seen her in a dress since the incident, but I took it as a good sign that she felt more comfortable now wearing clothes that didn't cover most of her body.

"Hey," I greeted softly, my eyes drinking her in. "You look beautiful."

With a slight flush to her cheeks, she lowered her eyes and smoothed down her skirt nervously, mumbling a self-conscious 'thank you' before waving hello to the guys. "Damon, aren't you going to shower? Care and Stef will be back with dinner soon, and Mer's coming after her shift is done."

"Crap," I announced with a facepalm. "I forgot to go shower!"

"Well that explains the alluring aroma I've been trying to resist for the last half hour," Ric said straight-faced, and then failed to dodge my damp shirt that I tossed at him after peeling it off of my sweaty frame.

"There, go nuts," I called out with a chuckle over my bare shoulders as I ran past my girl, pressing a swift kiss on her cheek on my way to the staircase. I was halfway upstairs when I realized that Elena was left alone with two men whose penises she was still uncomfortable to be in the same room with.

Plan B.

I hurriedly made my way back downstairs to find all three of them still at the exact same spot I left them in, smiling awkwardly at each other. Without a word, I grasped Elena's hand and pulled her along with me into my bedroom. She seemed overwhelmed and a little tense at first to be in my room for the first time, especially on an unplanned visit, but as soon as she saw my stack of books right by my king-sized bed, she made a beeline for them.

"This is awesome!" she gushed, settling herself down on the floor as she started sifting through the titles. It was precisely that exact moment - with the sunset streaming in through the windows, making her seem like an angelic beauty who remained pure and untarnished despite the horrors of her past - I knew that she belonged right there, in my room, my home, and in my life.

Whatever I felt for her now, I was in it for keeps.

* * *

_Elena's POV – Roadtrip to Richmond!_

"Are you _seriously_ going to wear that the entire way? Richmond is just over an hour's drive from here, you know?"

It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon, the cloudless sky a perfect blue that reminded me of a certain someone's magnetic eyes which were not visible to me with the current getup he had adorned in preparation of our road trip.

And here, I was using the term 'getup' loosely because my mind came up blank the moment Damon entered the passenger's side of the car decked fully in black. I was perfectly fine with his black jeans and vee-neck shirt that was topped off with his trusty leather jacket.

It was the full face helmet that threw me off.

"Yes, indeed. You practically cheated during yesterday's sparring challenge and since you're behind the wheels of Senorita Chiquita, I thought a little extra protection would be needed," a muffled voice came from behind the visor.

_Senorita Chiquita_?!

"You _named_ your car?" I really didn't know if I should laugh or be worried that I was dating a weirdo and that I would be spending an entire day with him. At least, I assumed it was Damon. Kind of hard to be sure when I couldn't see a hint of his face under all that…head gear. For all I knew, he could have sent a decoy; his brother, maybe, since he was so opposed to the idea of me driving the Camaro for the first time.

"Yes, and _she's_ very sensitive over who I allow to drive her, so bear in mind that this would be the first and the last time that you'll be sitting on the driver's seat. You have _no_ idea how long I have to cajole my baby into letting you drive, so you best be darn careful," he warned with his hands gesturing wildly since I couldn't see his facial expressions.

Rolling my eyes in exasperation, I said nothing as I buckled up and adjusted the seat, mirrors and tested the indicators before I slowly pulled out of the garage, stopping when we came to the end of the driveway.

"Well, _that_ was exciting! Okay, let's trade places now," he suddenly exclaimed, already unbuckling his seatbelt.

_WTF_?! Couldn't the guy who was supposedly in love with me have a little more faith in my driving skills? "I've only been driving for ten seconds! Less, even," I argued, glaring at my own reflection as I turned my head to him. "Damon! Do you-ugh, take off that damn helmet so that I can actually see who I'm talking to!"

He instantly pushed the reflective visor up so that I could now see his face, but it just made him look ridiculous, especially when we were sitting in a covered car. "Do you not trust me?" I asked, narrowing my gaze at him.

"Of course I do," he answered without any hesitation. "I just don't trust my seatbelt in the event of a headlong collision. This helmet may just be the very thing that would make me live until the ripe old age of twenty-six."

Swallowing an urge to giggle at his quip, I merely folded my hands over my chest and continued glaring at him, obviously not moving a muscle until he took that thing off his head. I didn't want to be a laughing stock from Mystic Falls all the way to Richmond.

"Alright, alright," he grumbled, finally giving in as he removed the helmet and threw it on the backseat. "Quit flashing your killer Bambi-eyes at me. Besides, I only wore it as a joke. That thing sure reeks of whatever hair products my baby bro drowns his hair in. Remind me to get my own helmet in the future, one that comes with some ventilation," he complained as he fake-gagged like the drama Queen he sometimes is.

"For what? For when you're walking Pig?" I asked incredulously. It wasn't as if I was going to drive in his presence ever again. Actually, I might as well forget about driving altogether. With one hand on the door handle, I reached down to unclip the seatbelt with the other. "You know what? If it'll help you to unclench, I'll just take the backseat."

His hand shot out to stop me before I could even get the belt all the way off. "Now hang on, babe. I wasn't 'clenched' at all, okay? There are no body parts whatsoever that's even a little tight. Look at me," he urged, leaning back in his seat with his ankles crossed and his arms folded behind his head, looking as if he was getting ready to be modeling for a center spread. "Am I not the very embodiment of peace and serenity?"

He so was. Whenever Damon is in a playful mood, his entire body seemed to cooperate fully, from his trademark smirk to right down to his toes. In fact, he seemed to be perpetually in a good mood all the time. Not sure why, but somehow this seemed to irk me right now because I wanted to see every facet of his emotions.

I could sense a little of his sour mood yesterday during the training when he suddenly turned all serious and business-like, and to be honest, it scared me a little. I was so used to him being nothing but supportive and caring to me, that it seemed like a figurative slap to the face when he spoke to me in such a clipped tone. It only lasted for a short while and I didn't exactly dwell on it at the time, preferring to push that nagging feeling at the back of my mind aside.

That nagging feeling was that I was simply waiting for the other shoe to drop.

On paper and from what I had observed, Damon seemed to be the closest version of a perfect man that I've ever met. So perfect that it scares me at times, seeing as I had a lot more to lose now that we were in a romantic relationship. Now, my heart was on the line, my feelings running deeper with each passing day that we were together. If anything, the past one week of being his girlfriend actually meant _more_ to me than the two years I spent with Mason.

It was downright scary how fast and how hard I'd fallen for this blue-eyed man. There had to be something wrong with him.

"Elena?" his anxious voice penetrated through my inner monologue, his hand reaching over to enclose mine, bringing it over to close over where his heart thudded steadily in his chest. "See? I'm calm and not the least bit worried. Do you feel that?"

Suddenly, I wanted to push his buttons. To piss him off and see what happens.

"Yeah, I feel your nipple."

Damn it, I wanted to make him angry not have him laugh at me! "No, what's under it?" he asked, still chuckling.

"Your nipple muscles?"

"Elena-"

"Your milk ducts?" I guessed, finding this whole exercise completely ridiculous but yet necessary at the same time.

An irritated 'tsk' sound escaped from his lips, a sign that I was getting on his nerves. Good.

"You are purposely ruining the moment! And I do _not_ have milk ducts," he announced haughtily, sounding disgusted with the notion. "And you're completely missing the point here, Elena."

"Oh no, I'm getting the point loud and clear," I said, snatching my hand back from under his and putting the car into gear. "That was such a sneaky way to get me to grab your boobies!"

My obviously skewed deduction didn't gain the reaction I was aiming for. Instead of pushing him to lose his cool, he just erupted into mirth. My attempts to piss him off were starting to piss _me_ off instead.

Disregarding the way his eyes were sparkling with amusement and perhaps even a hint of adoration, I fiddled with his car's built-in mp3 player and turned up the volume, finding the one song that might annoy the hell out of him. I smiled to myself when the familiar giggle began, followed by the starting lyrics of my favorite song as I was growing up.

I sang along somewhat obnoxiously as I eased the car into traffic, feeling much better when the man beside me remained silent. I could feel his gaze on me but I paid him no heed, concentrating on the road ahead of me and the fact that I knew the lyrics to the song by heart even though I hadn't heard it in years. Funny how that happens.

Imagine my utter shock when his voice joined in at the bridge, drawing a slow-motion head swivel from me in his direction when he sang along, complete with tapping feet and pointy finger movements.

"So here's a story from A to Z,

You wanna get with me you gotta listen carefully,

We got Em in the place who likes it in your face,

We got G like MC who likes it on and,

Easy V doesn't come for free, she's a real lady,

And as for me, ha, you'll see,  
Slam your body down and wind it all around,  
Slam your body down and wind it all around."

Ugh, he knew the lyrics, too?! Did the man know no shame?

"Eyes back on the road," he reminded when I kept staring at him unblinking, my mouth agape.

"You _know_ this song?"

"Are you _kidding_?" he asked in disbelief. "Who doesn't know Spice Girls' first single? We play it a lot at the centre, you know? Girl Power message and all that. It's _very_ empowering, considering the majority of our 'clientele'."

Shaking my head with disappointment, I reached over to press the skip button, interrupting the rest of the upbeat 'Wannabe', in search of a possibly annoying alternative that might be able to break Damon this time.

I found one.

"Oh God, not this Gangnam crap again!" he groaned, closing his eyes when the track started. "I really really hate this sorry excuse for music."

Perfect!

I turned up the volume and focused on not cringing with disgust with the fact that I even had this song in my music library. We both didn't speak for the whole duration of the song, and by the end of it, I decided to hit the repeat button just for the fun of it.

"Elena? Babe?" Damon yelled out to be heard over the unfortunate racket akin of a cat being skinned. With just one press of his finger, the car was once again enveloped in silence. "Are you _trying_ to make me angry for some reason?"

Oooh….busted. "No…?" I slid a sideways glance at him, catching his thoughtful expression. An arched brow proved that he didn't quite believe me. "Did it work at least?"

"No, but color me intrigued as to your motivation behind it," he said, looking at me curiously.

So many big words. A simpler 'Why?' would have sufficed, but instead, I felt like a misbehaved schoolgirl being sent to see the principal.

"Nothing. It's not important so just forget it." How was I supposed to explain that I wanted to make him angry because I wanted to put him to the test? To see if he'd say or do anything that might scare the crap out of me? To see if he could be like Mason?

A long moment of silence later, Damon broached the subject again, this time his voice was hushed and sorrowful. "I'm not _him_, Elena. I could never be mad at you, not enough to hurt you like that. I'd sooner die."

"Sure you were. When you thought that I'd agreed to marry him, you were mad then. _So_ angry that you had to find the nearest bar and started reuniting with your long lost bottle-shaped friends," I told him as I recalled that moment perfectly, the flash of anger in his eyes, the hard set of his jaw, the disappointment on his face. "You looked like you could even snap Mason's neck if he was within reach."

"Oh, the thought _did_ cross my mind," he scoffed. "Many times over, in fact. But I've decided that it's not worth it, killing him, especially now that I have a lot more to lose than just my freedom."

I frowned at his words, wondering what's worse than losing his freedom? "Are you afraid of the prisoners forcing you to bend over in the showers or-?" I trailed off, not knowing what else to say.

"Well yeah, _that_ and also I'd be stuck in the place where most of the inmates know my name almost as well as they know my face. Do you know why that is?"

"You're friendly with a lot of criminals?" I asked, venturing a wild guess.

"No, I was the one who put them in there and I'm pretty sure they all want me dead. But that's not the point," he informed me, ignoring my raised brow. He didn't think it mattered if he lived or died? "The point is that I would lose _you_ if I'm a convicted murderer, and I would never risk that, not when I just found you."

Shit. My eyes blinked rapidly to clear the shimmer of tears that had gathered there at the end of his speech, turning my insides to mush. He'd always had the innate ability to say all the right things at the right time and laying all my fears to rest.

The truth was that I never doubted him. It was me that I was unsure of, not knowing if I would somehow find an excuse to push him away, to change him. To destroy him the way I did with every other aspect of my life. I could hurt him, and I wasn't okay with that.

His hand suddenly covered mine, lifting it up to his face to press a light kiss on my knuckles, his thumb caressing my skin. "Smile for me, babe," he instructed softly.

I did. I forced my face to split into a wide grin, sighing deeply.

"Now frown," he said, momentarily confusing me so that my forehead creased automatically. "Now smile and frown at the same time," he ordered again.

He threw his head back and erupted into laughter when I obeyed his requests, gasping for me to look into the mirror between snorts. "I'm s-sorry but you l-look constipated," he snickered, tears of mirth falling from his eyes.

I couldn't help but to burst out into fits of giggles when I caught my own reflection, my face screwed up into an indescribable expression. I looked as if I was in immense pain but yet seemed to enjoy it. Grrr.

"You're handling me," I grumbled when we've both sobered up, wiping our eyes with the backs of our hands. I knew it; he was trying to distract me like he always did, especially when he knew that I was feeling negative about myself.

"No, I'm not. I just love you," he declared huskily with a wobbly grin.

Uh-oh. Declaration-vomit coming up. "I love you, too." My answering smile made his grip on my hand tighten as our eyes met. I officially loved road trips, too.

"Eyes on the road, babe. Just because your singing didn't kill me, your driving skills might still finish the job."

Grrrr.

* * *

"Are you ready?"

I took a deep breath to calm my nerves and nodded at the raven-haired man beside me, my hand holding onto his in a bone-crushing hold. As soon as we entered the room, Damon led me over to a small group of people that consisted mostly of women and only two men.

"Hi, Damon," greeted several of them with a smile when they saw us approaching, some even walking right over to hug him. I didn't expect for them to be on a first-name basis with him, let alone well enough to be hugging my boyfriend.

"Hey. This is Elena, my girlfriend. We're just here to observe and, you know, catch up with you all," he informed them with a friendly smile.

After chatting with the members briefly, Damon pulled me to the side of the room, a few feet away from the ring of chairs located in the middle of the room where they started taking their seats. For some reason, I felt nervous even though I wasn't going to take part in it. Then, the meeting began and it was an eye-opening experience, starting with the organizer's personal story of how she, like Damon, grew up in an abusive home.

By the end of that meeting that felt like hours, I was certain of one thing; human beings are plain evil. If I ever thought that I had it bad, these people were so much worse off than me.

It seemed that abuse comes in so many different forms and it happens to so many different types of people; from toddlers to older folks, men and women from all walks of life. It didn't matter what background they were from, what ethnicity, rich or poor. Those people who had the courage to tell their stories all suffered from physical and emotional abuse from their spouses, their parents, or even their superiors at work.

Almost all of them suffered silently for years, even decades, before they finally had enough and found the courage to seek help. A couple of them had to watch their loved ones die, a child for one of them and a beloved pet for another, before they were willing to put their foot down. And then, right before it ended, the organizer held a moment of silence for some of their past members who did _not_ leave in time to survive.

There was so much pain in that one room, so many tears as they recounted their experience that my heart broke for each and every one of them. I stood there, listening to their stories and all I could think of was that I was damn lucky.

I was lucky that I only suffered through it for a few months, but most of all, I was lucky that I had Damon. And Caroline. And the rest of our family that made the pain more bearable. I had people who loved me and never gave up on me. By the end of it, I was simply clinging onto Damon with tears streaking down my face, feeling ashamed that I survived when others didn't. A part of me felt that I didn't deserve to be alive, but only a very small part.

I felt rather selfish now because I was alive and I also had a second chance at love with a man like Damon. I must have done something right in my past life.

"Hey, are you okay?" his anxious voice sounded in my ear as I stood in his comforting embrace.

The entire experience was cathartic and yet agonizing at the same time. It opened up some old wounds that I thought had long healed, leaving me feeling raw and emotionally drained. Despite my excitement of spending an entire day alone with Damon, I wasn't in the mood to do the whole touristy thing now.

"Not really, but I am so ready to go," I said as I hugged him closer, wishing that I could just spend the next few hours wrapped around him, tucked safely under his protection. "Do you think we can just go somewhere and not think for a few hours?"

I had my eyes closed and my head buried in his neck, but I could practically hear his mind working to come up with a suggestion. "Well, technically, this _is_ our first date. How about an early dinner and a movie before we head home?"

A couple of hours of mindless movie-watching and food to ease my heartache? Ohh, wonderful!

"Have I ever told you that you're perfect?" I murmured into his neck, heaving a contented sigh.

His throaty chuckle rumbled deep in his chest, sending vibrations all over my body. "Not recently, no. In fact, _never_."

"Then I'm _such_ a ninny. I should tell you that more often, _daily_ even if we could watch something scary or funny."

And as usual, Damon delivered.

In less than an hour, we were both seated in a sparsely filled cinema, watching a bunch of arachnids from outer space wreaking havoc in New York City. By 'watching', I totally meant with our eyes staring into each other's, holding hands as I crawled onto his lap, snuggling against his body.

By the end of that movie, I found that; one, I had no idea what the movie was about; two, those spiders seemed harmless compared to humans in the real world. Oh, and three, Damon's lips tasted even better in the dark and surrounded by chaos and mayhem on the screen.

* * *

I happily relinquished my status as designated driver of the day, preferring to sit in the passenger's seat beside Damon as he drove his '_Senorita Chiquita'_ on our way home. It had been a surreal kind of day, one that I enjoyed parts of it immensely, while the other parts were just….numb-inducing. I was actually eager for the night to end.

"Hmm," Damon said suddenly, attracting my attention to the red and blue lights that greeted us as we slowed down to a stop right outside the Mystic Falls Hospital. The flickering lights came from several police cars that were parked haphazardly near the entrance. "Elijah's car is here," he observed, seeing the familiar black sedan that his best friend drives.

I couldn't explain the unexpected feeling of foreboding that struck deep in my stomach. "Should we-should we go see what's up? What if something happened while we were gone? What if it was Mason and someone's hurt?"

With a frown, he nodded, cutting off his engine completely before we both made our way into the hospital, greeted by the glaring bright lights and the sight of several police officers talking to some of the hospital staff. We went deeper into the building, following the commotion until we spotted our detective friend in the midst of a tense conversation with a woman who wore a white overcoat. She looked like a doctor.

The moment Elijah spotted us, his jaw tightened and I could tell that whatever happened must have been very bad. He spoke quickly to the woman and then walked right over to where we stood, still wondering what went wrong.

"You're back," he began with a flustered expression. "I'm sorry, I wanted to call you two but as you can see, things have been rather crazy around here."

"We were just on our way home when we saw the cars out front. What happened, Elijah?" Damon asked, sounding concerned now that he knew that this was somehow related to us. Why else would Elijah want to reach us? Oh God, what if something had happened to Care and Stef and Ric-

"Little Anna was…taken. Two hours ago, her father managed to escape from custody while they were transporting him here for a medical check-up and then….." he explained, but I was no longer listening. I barely heard a word after I heard that Anna was missing.

Without waiting to hear the rest, I broke free from Damon's hold and ran the rest of the way to the Pediatric Ward, heading straight for her room. Ignoring the presence of other officers who were securing the place, I dodged their obstructive hands and then I was staring straight at an abandoned Raggedy Anne doll that usually accompanied Anna. The little angel never went anywhere without it.

Bending down to the floor, I picked the doll up, running my fingers through the startlingly red hair as I struggled to process the situation. With another sweep of my eyes around the room, I searched for possible clues as to what might have occurred in this very room less than two hours ago. It was then that I saw something that turned my blood cold, proving that my nagging feeling I had been experiencing all day was indeed a bad omen.

I had been waiting all day for the other shoe to drop, only I hadn't counted on it being a literal shoe. I stood there gasping in shock at the sight of Anna's single tiny red sandal left on the floor.

It was obvious that whoever took her, she didn't go willingly.

* * *

**Twitter: cgsa_cher**

**KRISTI (tukct81), a thousand apologies on this being another long chapter. I hope you don't regret offering to be my beta. As usual, I owe you everything, from my heartfelt gratitude to three adorable kittens to keep you entertained. Consider this my IOU (I OWE YOU) note. **

**Random Thoughts: My friends, go and hug your loved ones today. You never know when it might be your last time to do it. Also, hug your pets, your stuffed toys and even your fridge, because to be honest, we've all had a long-term relationship with our fridges since we learnt how to open them by ourselves. Tell your fridge you love it. ;) **

**Read and R-E-V-I-E-W, if you will. I reply to all personally and I also love receiving threats. (I'm frowning at those who only reads and are about to press the 'X' in the top right corner….GRRRRRR) **


	21. Chapter 21

**Author's Note: I know you're all worried about little Anna, but I have this plan, see? It's very intricate and dramatic….okay, no, it's not. I just like the angst. **

***moons you all just because* And now that you've seen my naked butt, the story can go on.**

**Say, have you guys read Separate Beds? ;)**

* * *

**A Woman's Worth: Chapter TWENTY ONE **

_Elena's POV_

It was past two in the morning but the Salvatore mansion was still bathed in lights on the lower level, where six people attired in various versions of sleepwear were staring morosely at the flickering flames in the fireplace.

We were all gathered in the living room; Ric and Meredith sitting on the two-seater, fingers interlaced with each others' while Stefan was sitting on the carpet, his back against the dark wood-paneled wall with his fingers buried in his usually spiky hair, now flattened and messy from his own ministrations. The typically upbeat and perky Caroline was now curled in a winged-back armchair, her thick jacket covering her body which was clad in a set of pink pajama pants and an old tee-shirt. The dried tear tracks on her face were the only signs of how upset she was.

"It's getting late," Damon said suddenly, his low voice unnaturally loud in the sullen silence of the room. "If there was any update at all, Elijah would have called by now."

From my stretched out position on the couch with my head on his lap, I turned to peer up at his tensed expression, staring unseeingly at the fire. He had maintained the same seated position on the couch for a long time, his fingers absently combing through my hair while his other hand-held my own in a loose grasp.

Just like several times throughout the night, the moment someone started talking, the rest of us would rouse from our own musings and rejoin the conversation, only to relapse into our own thought bubbles yet again moments later.

"No news is good news, right?" I asked softly, injecting some hope into my voice. There was a chance that little Anna could still be found, alive _and_ unharmed. It was a slim chance but I clung to it like I would to a buoy in an ocean.

"Why? Why would anyone do that to his own daughter? An innocent little child?" came Caroline's anguished voice, breaking towards the end as she choked on the lump in her throat.

"Because he's a monster," Stefan answered bitterly, "a pariah, a burden to society. Any parent who abuses their own child should be given the death penalty or at least, locked up in a maximum security prison. They don't even deserve to be given any medical benefits."

This time, it was Meredith who spoke up. "Criminal or not, every human has rights, and no prison would deny their prisoners the right to get medical attention if they so require it."

Ric piped in with a heavy sigh, rubbing his face with his palms. "Yeah, Mer's right. It's not the legal system at fault here, but Anna's father and also the police officers who were supposed to keep an eye on him. We may not like it but child abusers do not get death sentences. That's just the way it works here."

Stefan didn't agree, though. "Then the system _sucks_ because there's nothing human about such parents. Monsters don't get rights and the sooner they're all dead, the better. They can't be fixed, and they can't be rehabilitated. The world would be better off without them living off of _our_ taxes, breathing in _our_ oxygen, taking up space when there were more deserving people who _died_ because of them."

The rest of us exchanged a confused look at his use of the word 'died' and the way his eyes blazed angrily as if he meant every word that came out of his mouth. It felt…personal.

"Alan is not our father, Stef," Damon said quietly.

Oh. _Of course_.

"I _know_ he's not," the younger Salvatore bit out, gritting his teeth as if he was in pain. "That doesn't mean he won't become a murderer like Dad was. What he did to that little girl was _ugly_, and only a heartless man could do that. Now he's kidnapped her, and while we're all sitting here arguing about who deserves to live or die or whether he deserved to get a health check, she might _already_ be dead."

His last whispered word hung over the rest of us like a heavy dark cloud that wouldn't leave. To be honest, that possibility came across my mind several times since I saw Anna's red shoe on the floor of her hospital room, but I pushed that negative thought out of my head the moment it emerged.

"Don't say that," Caroline breathed out with a shudder, her cheeks glistening with tears again. "Please, don't say that. We don't _know_."

"Listen, Stef," the raven-haired man above me said as he leaned forward, his forehead increasingly creased with worry. "You're upset about Dad, and I _get_ that, but there's no point being angry at the legal system, as well as the issue of human rights. These people or monsters - as you and I call them - they exist and they are _everywhere_. As much as I hate that fact or that this happened to someone we know, we can't be the judge, jury and executioner and simply decide that the world is better off being rid of them."

I could tell that Damon was getting frustrated with the whole subject now. While Stefan's own traumatizing childhood certainly entitles him to some bitterness for child abusers, Damon was right.

I sat up slowly and squeezed his hand in silent support.

"And what if it was _Elena_ who was taken, huh? Would you be sitting here so calmly if her ex-boyfriend had come back to take her away? Or would you have hunted him down and killed him with your bare hands?" Stefan asked defiantly, evoking shocked gasps from the other three silent spectators who didn't seem eager to jump in between the brothers' exchange.

Instantly, Damon's blue eyes snapped to mine, providing me with an up-close-and-personal view into their troubled depths. He already had enough on his mind, he didn't need to be burdened with concern about me, too.

"Oh God, I'm so sorry, Elena," a sheepish green-eyed Salvatore said, lifting a hand to run through his rumpled hair again. "I didn't-I didn't mean to bring up-"

I waved off his apology and flashed him a timid smile. "It's okay, Stef. I know how you feel. Look, we're all a little edgy and it's been one hell of a night. We'd be less tensed once we've heard something from Elijah." I noted the relief in Stefan's expression before his eyes strayed to his older brother.

Damon's attention, though, was still focused on me, unwavering ever since he heard Stefan's outburst. I saw the way his eyes swept over my face, and then his fingers moved to caress the sensitive skin around my eyes. "You must be exhausted, especially after the day we've had," he murmured, not even bothering to acknowledge his brother.

I nodded wearily and leaned my head on his shoulder, thinking of how the day started this morning, from our car ride to Richmond, to the meeting of the _Unsilenced_ group, and then to our 'first date' with dinner and a movie, followed by the drama that had unfolded at the hospital on our way back.

I was _beyond_ exhausted.

"Yeah, maybe we should all try to get some sleep and check in with Elijah in the morning," Ric spoke up, only now daring to chime in after a lengthy pause from the last time he spoke.

Apparently, everyone thought it was a good idea, so we all stood up simultaneously, all stretching from the lack of movement for the past few hours.

"Hey, why don't you guys just crash here tonight and we'll call Elijah in the morning? Ric, you and Mer can go commandeer a room for yourselves and Care can bunk in with-" he paused, flicking his gaze down at me, catching me yawning widely, but then he didn't get to finish his suggestion.

"_I'll _show her to her room," Stefan cut in hurriedly, already pulling the surprised blonde along with him. "Come on, Care Bear." With one last apologetic look at me, Stefan led my best friend upstairs, leaving the four of us alone, looking suspiciously after their disappearing backs.

Ric slithered over to stand beside Damon, his gaze still narrowing at the direction of the staircase. "What do you think? Boinking buddies or just secretly smooching?" he whispered dramatically, earning him a painful nudge from Damon's elbow.

"How about none-of-your-business, you nosy ninny," my boyfriend uttered, rolling his eyes for good measure.

Bidding both of them an abrupt good night and strict instructions to find themselves a room so that they didn't 'procreate all over the mansion', Damon half-carried me up the steps, his arms supporting me the whole way to my bedroom. He wasted no time in tucking me into bed as he did without fail every night before leaning down to give me a lingering kiss on my lips.

A split second later, we both felt the bed dip heavily on one side and then a heavy round head came to rest on my stomach. We looked down to find Pig in her usual spot, once again appointing herself to be on sentry duty once Damon leaves the room.

"I'm not actually _out_ of the room yet. Can't you just turn around and give us some privacy?" he asked, aiming his question at the dog and then sighing in exasperation when the pug refused to budge but continued to flash her big round eyes at her owner as if she was wondering what he was _still_ doing here.

I rubbed Pig behind her ears, causing her to close her eyes and let out a sound similar to a purr, while I tried to stifle my yawn before Damon could notice, but I wasn't stealthy enough.

"Chased out of my own guest room by _both_ of my girls…where's the justice?" he shook his head, and then straightened up beside me, bending low to press his lips on my forehead while I tried to keep my eyes open.

"We can stay up and talk if you're not tired," I mumbled wearily, my fingers lifting to scrape against the roughness of his five o'clock shadow on his chin.

I hated this part of the night. A part of me wanted very much to pull him into bed with me, but there was yet another part that hesitated for some reason. Ever since we had become steady, he had been nothing but a gentleman, choosing to return to his own bedroom every night after bidding me goodnight. I suspected that he was afraid of how I'd react to our proximity, considering the way I had completely fallen apart while kissing him on my first night here in this very room. On this very bed.

"We can talk tomorrow. Sleep well, my dear," he whispered against my skin, and that was the last thing I heard as I began to drift off, not even noticing if he had left.

* * *

My eyes flew open and I sat up slowly, turning my head around the pitch black room. I rubbed my eyes with the backs of my hands and peered around again, my eyes now adjusting to the darkness so that I could see the familiar shapes of the room I had occupied since December.

Then I heard a whine followed by the sound of paws scratching at the timber door, and then I realized that _that_ must have been what woke me up suddenly. I turned to look at the digital clock on the bedside table.

Four in the morning.

Pig whined again, prompting me to get up to see what the fuss was all about. I almost yelped in shock as soon as I pulled open the door, caught off guard at the sight of Damon in his sweat pants and white tank top, rocking back and forth on his toes as he clutched a pillow to his chest.

"Damon?"

The disheveled man spun around as soon he heard my voice, his harassed expression turning into an apologetic one. "I'm sorry, did I wake you?"

"No, I had to go to the bathroom," I lied, not wanting him to give it another thought. Besides, he looked like a lost little boy when he cuddled his pillow like that. "What's with the pacing? Couldn't sleep?"

"Didn't even try. Too busy holding myself back from heading downstairs for one of my bottled friends," he confided nervously as he resumed his insane rocking once more.

"Hey, hey, hey, c'mere," I reached out to pull one of his hands into the room with me, closing the door behind me before leading him to the bed. I pushed him down and took a seat right beside him, inching closer until I was able to envelope him with my arms, feeling his entire body tense for control.

I just sat there, holding him until I could feel him relaxing. "Everything will be okay, you know that, right?"

He exhaled a shaky breath, shaking his head slightly. "I _don't_ know that, Elena. This isn't the first time I've lost one of my charges," he swallowed, gulping down his rising fear. "But _this_ time, I'm terrified."

I could sense it, his feeling of helplessness. He'd barely said anything since we came back from the hospital, after he had found me standing frozen in Anna's room, staring at her discarded shoe. He had enveloped me into a hug wordlessly, and we both held each other for a long time, just soaking in the reality that a seven-year old girl we both loved was gone. Taken away.

If Elijah hadn't chased us away from the crime scene, we would still have been standing in that room, trying not to fall to pieces. I knew how much little Anna had meant to Damon, but I was completely blown away to find how much I had come to love her in such a short time, too. I connected to her in a way that I had never connected to another child before, and I wanted to see her recover from all her scars - emotional and physical ones - and grow up to become a strong young lady.

I refused to give up hope that I would see her doing exactly that.

"Remember when you didn't think she'd speak again?" I asked desperately as I leaned in so that his forehead was now pressed against mine. "And she _did_. She laughed out loud and then she held our hands together and told us that we were a happy family, remember?"

I waited until I felt Damon's nod, his lips curving into a smile at the memory. "Yeah."

"So, we're a family, right? And families don't give up on each other, do they? No, we don't," I answered for him, my palms now cupping his cheeks. "We'll go and see Elijah tomorrow and offer our help to look for her. We'll go knocking on every single door in Mystic Falls and try to find her. If that fails, then we'll go to the next town and the one after that until she's back safely. I _promise_ you, Damon. We'll find her and she will be so happy to see us but then she'll scold us for taking so long. Okay?"

"We'll find her," he repeated, his voice now resolved and determined. "She'll be okay."

Our foreheads rubbed together when I moved my head up and down eagerly, glad that I managed to provide some form of reassurance to him, even if it only lasted for the rest of the night. "How are you doing? Still want to go raid your alcohol cabinet?" I asked after a spell of silence.

"Nope. You're exactly what I needed to clear my head enough to calm down. As long as you're here with me, I'll be fine."

And just like that, a decision had been made for me. Here he was, trusting me and showing himself at his most vulnerable, and I realized that I needed to trust him with all my insecurities, too.

"Sorry that I'm so incredibly needy right now," he went on, sounding angry at himself.

I drew back, pulling the covers away so that I could slide under them. In the dimness of the room, I could see his silhouette moving off the bed, intending to move towards the door until I reached out my hand to grasp his. "No, don't leave. Stay with me tonight," I pleaded, moving to put enough space on his side for him.

"What?" he queried, sounding unsure even as his body automatically obeyed as he sat back down next to me. "You want me to get into bed with you? _Now_?"

"Yeah, we can lie down and just talk or, you know, do that thing people normally do on a bed, like sleep with our eyes closed?" I quipped, tugging his hand harder to show that I meant it and that I was comfortable with the idea.

His uncertainty was still evident but he wasn't one to turn down my request, so he slid in closer to me until we were about six inches apart, both of us lying on our sides, facing each other with our heads propped up on the pillows. Two seconds later, Pig appeared on top of the covers again, settling herself in between us as if she was our appointed chaperone, sent to keep an eye on us.

"Not sure why, but she _really_ makes me feel guilty for even being in the same room with you, let alone on the same bed and _under_ the covers. I almost feel like I should be writing lines a few hundred times on a chalkboard as punishment."

Chuckling softly, I tucked one of my hands under my head as I stared at him, his eyes shimmering like deep pools of blue. My previous weariness forgotten, I searched for his hand on top of the covers and laced my fingers with his. "This feels really nice."

"It does," he agreed. I could practically feel his smile radiating from his body as we immersed ourselves into this moment of togetherness while the rest of the world melted away. "Stefan wasn't wrong, you know?" he commented out of the blue after a few minutes.

Momentarily confused, I had to ask. "About the death penalty?"

"No, about me killing Mason with my bare hands," he corrected as my eyes widened. "If he took you from me and harmed you, I'd hunt him down and look right into his eyes as I choke the life out of him. And I'd do it with a smile, too, because the world would have one less criminal to worry about."

Dismay rose swiftly in my heart at his words. How could he even consider doing that? "What about all that talk we had in the car about you not wanting to go to a prison where the inmates want to kill you? What about losing your freedom if you're a convicted murderer?"

"If you _had_ died, then I would have nothing left to lose," he admitted unevenly. "I don't think I'd be able to think clearly then. I would go too insane with grief to care about the repercussions. Hey, maybe I could plead temporary insanity and get off light," he said in a lame attempt at a joke, but I was far from being amused.

"Don't say that!" I burst out angrily, startling a snoring Pig and also her owner. "Don't _even_ think that! My God, Damon, you _can't_ be serious about this. You still have your brother and Pig and-and-and your friends and _all_ those other victims you're supposed to help! You can't just throw your whole life away just because _I_ got killed! If you do, I swear I'll come back as a ghost and kick your ass and steal your car and drive it off a cliff!"

With that, I promptly burst into tears of frustration. Just the notion of Damon losing everything he'd worked for to keep his only remaining family member together and all the work he'd done to help so many others – it was all just too ludicrous. He was being stupid, and I just couldn't stand the image of him being behind bars, miserable for the rest of his life.

"Oh shit!" he swore before he hastily wrapped me in his arms, cradling my head into his chest as I dissolved into a sobbing mess from the accumulation of the day's stress.

I wept for the foolish moron whose whispered apologies were echoing in my ear, for the lost little girl who must have been terrified beyond anything, and for all those victims who had the courage to share their stories in Richmond.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Shit, I didn't mean to make you cry. I'm just being overly emotional tonight, and damn needy and saying stupid things but I swear I used to have a brain somewhere. Tell you what; if I _do_ in fact kill him, I'll make it seem like suicide or at least try to frame Ric, how about that?" he suggested while pressing comforting little pecks over the back of my head.

I giggled despite my consternation, still feeling miffed at him. "You suck," I mumbled into his chest, rubbing my wet face on his tank top, soaking the white material.

"Ric would agree with you, and as usual, you make a _very_ compelling argument. I _do_ suck, and I'll show you how I do it best."

Without any further warning, his hands grasped me by the sides of my head until his lips found mine, and then all my worries just didn't seem that important anymore. Nothing else existed except for him and his hands, his thumbs that brushed the remaining wetness off my cheeks, followed by his fingers that tangled in my hair.

True to his words, his lips opened and aligned with mine so that they could massage my lower lip, pulling at it with his teeth and wetting it with his tongue before proceeding to suck the entire thing into his mouth. With a loud moan, I slid closer to his side, reaching over with one hand to caress the back of his neck, pressing down firmly to keep his head in place.

Since meeting Damon, my life had been nothing but an emotional roller-coaster ride, no thanks to the drama in my life known as Mason. And despite that, I had somehow emerged as a stronger and wiser person because of this man I was kissing so passionately. I could feel the thick layers of walls that I had helped to erect around myself slowly disappear one brick at a time.

Emotionally, I had done my best to open my heart and laid myself bare except for the most crucial part that had me retreating in fear every time I tried to talk about it; the rape. Spiritually, I had never shared a more intense bond with anyone else, not even my parents. Somehow, with Damon, I could be myself from day one, never needing to pretend or hide because he seemed to understand me better than even _I_ understood myself. All that's left to give him at this point is the physical connection, something I had been so terrified about.

And so, it was right then that I decided to try. I wanted to comfort him, to distract him from the woes of the day, but also, I wanted him. _All_ of him, like I wanted to give him all of _me_.

It didn't hurt that he made me so damn horny.

At the risk of making the protective pug affronted, I pushed her over to my side of the bed so that I could roll on top of Damon like how I did during our training sessions, my knees on either side of his hips as I straddled him. Leaning low, I kissed him again and again, making him breathless as we both fought for control as our tongue waged wars on the other's.

I drew a low groan from him as I rocked my hips, pressing against him intimately while I rained kisses down his chin, making my way down the side of his neck, nipping at the sensitive skin with my teeth. His hands that had been caressing my back now moved down to grip my sides, his fingers splayed wide to squeeze the fleshy part of my lower waist, my bare skin heating up where his thumbs touched between the gap of my loose top and my skimpy shorts.

Things were heating up in a hurry, especially with my one-track mind and Damon's inability to deny me anything. I used that knowledge to my advantage, holding nothing back as I pulled his flesh between my teeth and sucked hard, earning me a yelp from him before he sat up abruptly, holding me upright.

Raising my head when I felt one of his hands tilting my chin up from my assault on his neck, we stared at each other, panting deeply. Our breaths mingled as I took in his mussed hair, the way his eyes had darkened with desire, the slight parting of his lips. "W-what are we doing?" he breathed out huskily, proving how affected he was by our heavy make out session.

"_I'm_ loving you, Damon," I answered simply with no intention of backing down. "Now love me back."

Wasting no time at all, I dug my fingers into his thick hair and pulled his face to mine, attacking him with another bruising lip-lock, tasting him, driving any thought of stopping out of his mind. He retaliated by crushing me to him, his arms wrapped so tightly around my back that I had no idea where I ended or where he began. We were meshed up together so wonderfully, so perfectly that we were simply just 'one'; Delena, as Care had once referred to us.

I released his mouth so that I could push his tank top up and then over his head, latching on quickly to his exposed chest with my lips before he could utter an objection. I ducked my head even lower to circle my tongue around the outline of his areola, moistening the area and then blowing gently on the puckered up surface. He gave a sort of chuckle mixed in with a snort at my actions, and then groaned loudly when I closed my lips over his nipple, sucking hard before I flicked my tongue back and forth on the tip to ease the pain.

At this point, I was grinding against his arousal, separated only by our pants. His hands lowered to grab at my buttocks, his fingernails digging in through my shorts as he tried to keep me still while I concentrated on his other nipple. Reaching behind me, I moved his right hand and placed it on my left breast, feeling the ache there that begged for some attention.

We had far surpassed any boundary we had wordlessly set for ourselves so far, effectively making this a foreign territory for both of us. It didn't matter, because I was letting my instincts guide me right now. Apparently, so did he because after feeling the fullness with his palm, his fingers slipped into the vee neckline and pulled the material down to one side, exposing an entire shoulder and the heaving flesh underneath.

I wasn't sure if the tortured moan came from him or me, but as soon as his fingers found my bared breast, I was a goner. My head was thrust backwards, pushing my chest forward to prolong the sensation, his hand cupping me, feeling the weight in his palm before his thumb flicked against the pebbled tip. His lips came to rest on the arch of my neck as he continued his assault on my senses, his wet tongue moving agonizingly slowly down my sensitive skin, leaving a trail of goosebumps wherever it went.

Soon, his lips closed over one tight peak, and what happened next was as unexpected as it was disappointing. The memory of Mason biting painfully into my nipple decided to surface at that moment, causing my heart to thud with fear and disgust rather than desire as it had just seconds ago.

It was like a slap to my face. The foreplay, the built-up, the connection – all destroyed with just one jarring memory.

Damon's tongue swiped across my nipple at that moment, and it sent a sharp pang of longing to the pits of my stomach. I pushed him back down onto the pillows roughly, successfully dislodging his mouth from that sensitive part of my body, breathing heavily from my attempt not to cry out with frustration.

I refused to let Mason ruin my relationship with Damon. He had damaged my body in every way possible, and trampled on my confidence and trust. I couldn't - _wouldn't_ – allow him to wreck the only good thing I've got going in my life. I _must_ not let him come between me and Damon.

I gathered the rest of my control to finish what I had started. Damon's needs came first. With everything that went on in my head, my dark-haired lover had no clue of my inner turmoil. He remained oblivious, safe in his own little world of desire, love, lust. I wanted to crawl into that world with him.

I leaned back down to press a chaste kiss on his lips, a startling contrast to the ardor we had just shared. It was my silent apology for not being able to see this through to a happy ending for both of us, but I made a vow that I would at least attempt to fulfill his. Pushing through all the negative thoughts in my head aside, I lifted my hips away from his, giving me room to maneuver for what I had in mind. I kissed my way down his chest in a straight line, nibbling on his perfect skin as I went, discovering the angles of his muscular physique.

I scoot lower, dipping my tongue into his navel as I gazed up at him, watching his eyes closed in pleasure. With a quick movement of my shoulder, my tank top snapped back into its original position, covering my chest once again. I snuck my hand down past the elastic band of his sweat pants, and soon my fingers were circled around a fully erect muscle. He released a ragged breath, his hips arching off the mattress as I touched him intimately for the first time.

I heard a strangled cry from the man beneath me and suddenly, I was flipped into a horizontal position, with my back against the bed and him, hovering above me.

"What the _hell_ do you think you're doing? Besides driving me crazy, that is," he growled in a low voice, sounding as if his control was about to snap at any moment.

I looked up at his taut expression with confusion, thinking that he might be pleased rather than…growly. "I'm _loving_ you," I repeated from before, as if it should be obvious.

"Yeah, I get _that_, but what are you doing…down _there_?"

We both simultaneously looked down at his exposed crotch, and he swore quietly before hastily straightening to pull up his pants, covering his hard member from my eyes. "Dammit, we shouldn't have-_I _shouldn't–we can't just go to the _bonus_ level without first going past the other smaller levels first! We haven't even had our third date yet and we've gone from first base straight past to the third base. I mean, there are _rules_, Elena!"

Despite my inner struggles with an unfortunate memory that decided to pop up and ruin my life, I wanted to burst out laughing at the completely distressed look on Damon's face. One would think that he was a virgin who just had his cherry popped by the horny football captain.

Major eww at the mental image.

"I-I didn't think about rules or levels, Damon. It's just that I haven't been intimate with anyone else other than…well, you know, but I wanted to try because I didn't want to be afraid anymore. I just went with how I felt and I wanted to pleasure you, okay? I'm sorry if it's against the 'rules'," I answered, rolling my eyes as I did the air-quote actions with my fingers. "You seemed like you were enjoying yourself."

His expression softened as he let out a deep breath, plopping down to lie beside me as if he was drained of energy. "I _was_ enjoying myself– in an _Oh-my-Goh-I've-died-and-gone-to-heaven_ way – but this relationship, _you_, mean a lot to me and I want to do this the right way. I should have stopped the moment I lost my shirt, but as usual, you, Elena Gilbert, managed to make me lose my mind whenever you're around me," he reprimanded with a sideways glare, his palm rubbing his face roughly as he gave himself a mental headshake.

"Fine. Sorry you lost your mind," I shrugged, pouting because my plans to make him happy had backfired.

Instantly, he threw an arm across my waist and cuddled me close, mumbling something about whiny babies and overactive libidos. "You have the power to drive me insane with only a smile, Miss Gilbert, so imagine what you can do with your lips and hands on me," he said softly, nuzzling his nose into my hair around my ears.

"I wanted to take this slowly because you deserve to be romanced, okay? I want to be with you _not_ because of lust or anything physical, and I need you to know that. Your first relationship was basically with an asshole who didn't appreciate what he had with you, and because of what happened to your parents, you had to move in with him out of necessity. You were sort of forced into this serious relationship with him _before_ you were ready to take the next step," he explained wisely.

His insight rendered me speechless as I was astounded by the truth of it. He was right, of course he was. He is _always_ right, as annoying as hell that is.

"I get it, you know? You were so young and you had no choice but to rely on him," he went on when I didn't disagree. "And yet, here you are now, and don't get me wrong, I'm _thrilled_ to have you living here with me, where I get to see you every day and make sure you're safe. But you're here because of _circumstances_, too. I guess I just don't want us to take the next step before either one of us is ready, even if we're in love and spending all this time together. I don't want _our_ love to be influenced by anything except for how we feel, not because of this unique situation that brought us together. So, I'm thinking that we don't start removing our clothes until we're both well and truly ready, however long it takes."

I couldn't resist the quip that rose to the tip of my tongue. "So you're saying that not only can we not have sex, we have to refrain from showering and changing altogether? That'll actually work because I wouldn't want to go near you if you stink that much."

He released a part-groan-part-laugh combination before hugging me even closer to his chest. "I knew it! I knew you couldn't resist from saying that, you cheeky monkey! You know exactly what I mean, right?" he asked with a grin, quirking an eyebrow at me.

"What if it takes a year, maybe two before we're ready? What do you think will happen to our relationship then?" I challenged back, imitating his expression.

"Then I'll just develop a case of severe 'erectusitis', especially with you around, tempting me with your sneaky attacks, but other than that, I think that we could build a really strong foundation based on friendship and trust first before we do the other stuff," he answered with an openness that was just classic Damon. Also, I was pretty sure he just made that word up.

For the sake of argument, I needed to do some clarification. "Wait, so when you say _'other stuff'_, you'll have to be more specific."

I supposed it didn't occur to either of us to think it funny to be having a serious conversation about this particular subject in the middle of the night - or morning, depending on how one would see it - but here we were, in bed and cuddling, talking about the dos and don'ts of sexual foreplay.

You can't make this stuff up, _even_ if you wanted to.

"Yes, umm, right," he stammered as he cleared his throat, frowning slightly. "I think we should just go with what _you're_ comfortable with. So, _you_ tell me."

And so he left the ball in _my_ court, which was a pretty big deal because I had never held any balls before, not with Mason.

No, that didn't exactly come out right! Oh well.

"I _love_ kissing you," I told him with a grin. "I could kiss you forever."

"Me too," he agreed, returning my grin. "So, endless kissing. Check!"

I pursed my lips, looking at him thoughtfully. "I'm okay with you nibbling on my neck. And ears!" I declared enthusiastically, already feeling a tingle running up and down my spine at the thought of it. "Okay, I-I think that's it…for now."

"Neck and ear nibbling, check!" he chuckled. "Just so you know, this is one healthy conversation, Elena."

I nodded my head in agreement, and then asked one final question. "How do we know when either of us is ready? How do we tell each other?"

He was quiet for some time, no doubt racking his brain for an answer. "Maybe we'll just know with _that_ look in our eyes. We can just talk about it first and see how we feel, I guess," he finally said with a shrug, and neither of us said anything more.

I was glad that I didn't tell him about my internal freak-out earlier, especially when he was so adamant about us being ready to take the next step. It made sense, though, to wait.

My eyes started drifting close as I laid my head on his chest, listening to his heart beating under my ear. It was a comforting sound because it didn't make me feel as alone, especially during this particular night. I thought we had made great strides just from our talk tonight alone. And if it was possible, I actually thought that he was even more lovable now, after he turned down oral sex in favor of taking it slow because I mean that much to him.

The guy certainly knew how to make a girl feel warm and fuzzy on the inside.

"Or maybe we could get one of those bat signals on the roof to announce it. That would actually be super cool!" he suddenly exclaimed with childlike excitement.

Correction. The guy never knew when to shut up while he's ahead.

* * *

_Damon's POV _

I watched in fascination as her lids fluttered, and then opened to reveal her warm brown irises. I've always loved gazing deeply into her eyes, getting lost in their muddy depths. And now she was starting to become fully awake, her attention focused on me with a stunned look before her lips curved into a smile.

Well, at least she didn't lurch up in a panic and scream bloody murder before running away. Or worse; practice her self-defense moves on me.

Then, to my dismay, she _did_ lurch up in a panic but instead of screaming, she just uttered one word instead. "Anna!"

She scrambled to get the covers off but I pulled her back to my side in an instant, wrapping an arm around her waist to keep her in place. "Wait, it's still early and Elijah hasn't called yet," I told her, watching her face fall at the news. "I'll call him in a few minutes, but let me just look at you for a moment."

My eyes roved lovingly over her face, taking note of her cheeks flushing at my bold perusal, the slight parting of her red and swollen lips – the product of our frantic kisses merely a couple of hours ago.

It was a little after seven in the morning on a Sunday. It should have been one of those glorious days where we'd spend the day just hanging out in the kitchen or frolicking in the garden out back, planning our next road trip, but our lives were not exactly conventional. It came with the territory of doing what I do.

And so, before the day became another one of those highly stressed ones, I decided to be selfish and spend a few minutes reveling in all things Elena.

My girlfriend. My horny-and-kind-of-sexually-forward girlfriend.

"Why are you turning red all of a sudden?" she wondered as she placed her palms on both of my heated cheeks, no thanks to my vivid mind that replayed everything we did in this very bed. "You might be coming down with something. Did you sleep at all?"

She pressed the back of her hand on my forehead, looking perplexed as she tried to figure out if I was running a fever, but the only fever I had was for the maddeningly gorgeous woman I was with.

"No, I was afraid of closing my eyes only to wake up to find you gone, that you're just a figment of my imagination," I whispered with a genuine amount of vulnerability. I had a healthy fear of losing her especially after what happened to Anna. It was bad enough before, but now, my insecurities were skyrocketing into hellish proportions.

"Well, _I'm_ here, messy hair, bad breath and all," she said, clamping a palm over her mouth before she leaped up and disappeared into the bathroom, presumably to get her mouth rinsed and hair combed.

Well, _that_ was a rather abrupt end to our lazy Sunday morning in bed. Sighing in resignation, I searched around for my phone and dialed my other best friend's number. Moments later, I heard his frazzled greeting, sounding as if he'd barely slept at all since we left him to do his job at the hospital.

"Any news?" I asked, not entirely sure if I was hoping for a yes or no answer. It would be great if it was a yes at finding Anna alive and unharmed, but then again a no would be preferable than to know that she was found dead somewhere. I shuddered at the thought.

"We have some leads, but nothing concrete. We've spread the search area to include several towns over and the media is helping to make sure that her face is shown on every channel on TV. All we can do now is hope for the best," he responded with an exhausted sigh.

I nodded my agreement even though he couldn't see it over the phone. "Do you need some help? I can go down to the hospital and organize a search party or something. I can't just sit still."

"I know," he replied. "Listen, her mother's arriving in about an hour, and if you'd like, you can keep her company in Anna's room while she's here."

"Yeah, I'll be there. Keep me posted, Elijah," I told him before disconnecting the line, feeling nervous for some reason.

Pearl was coming and I had no idea how to handle her reaction to the news of her missing daughter. I remembered how heartbroken she was when the judge ruled against giving her custody of Anna, and now with this happening…

"Hey, were you just talking to someone?" Elena asked, making her way over looking much more awake now. I kinds liked the way she looked before, though. Much more sexy.

Chucking my phone to the side, I nodded. "Yup, that was Elijah. No, there's no news yet," I added quickly, knowing that was her next question when she brightened up at the mention of the detective. "Remember when I told you about Anna's mother, Pearl? Well, she'll be at the hospital in an hour and Elijah has given me the task to keep her company. That means that I have to shower and get ready to leave soon."

I stood up from the bed, intending to look for my discarded tank top that Elena had peeled off of me in the heat of passion, only to see a snoring Pig curled up on top of it. Great, exactly what I needed; _more_ dog hair.

"Damon?" Elena said as she came sidling up to me, throwing her arms around my neck as she peered up at me with her amazingly large peepers, sending me a pleading look that could rival Puss-in-Boot's. No, Elena's version would put Puss' to shame. She didn't need to ask for me to know _exactly_ what she was thinking.

"_Of course_ you can come along, babe," I guessed accurately, basking in her glowing smile as she pressed a thank-you-kiss on my cheek. "I wouldn't dream of leaving you behind. Pick you up in half an hour?"

With an enthusiastic "Okay," she was back in the bathroom, leaving me to make my way back to my own room. As soon as I stepped out of the door, another one closed softly on the other end of the hallway, and I watched, amused to see a blonde trying to tip-toe her way silently and perhaps, unnoticed down my way.

_Oh my God, my match-making skills actually _worked?!

We both stopped short when we saw each other in various states of undress; me in only my sweat pants, and _her_ clad only in what I could have sworn was one of baby bro's oversized football jersey from the old days. We both covered ourselves at the same time, with me crossing my arms in front of my chest and placing my palms over my nipples while she pulled the jersey's hemline to make sure that her bare thighs were covered.

"Good morning, Care," I greeted with a knowing smile on my face. She paled at the sight of my upturned lips, sliding her eyes nervously back at the door she just came out of, the door that led to my brother's room.

"Umm, morning. I was just…umm…" she hesitated, looking like a ripe tomato, the way her cheeks flushed.

"Doing the walk of shame, are we?" I teased, leaning back against Elena's door frame.

Her head lifted defiantly at my words, her blue-green eyes blazing back at me in a challenge. "You're one to talk! That's _Elena's_ room you just left, you half-naked man! What, so are you guys sexing it up already? Since when? Was it hot? I'll bet it was sizzling!"

My smirk widened at her defensive but yet half-curious tone, the excitement at the development of our relationship bursting out of her in spades. "Nah, we just cuddled all night long. Nothing happened, I promise," I assured her, stretching the truth a little but what she didn't know wouldn't kill her.

"Oh," she said, seemingly crestfallen. "Did you at least make out a lot?" she asked hopefully.

"Yeah, I'm afraid so," I admitted almost guiltily and then raised an eyebrow at her. "But I'm guessing you and baby Salvatore did a whole lot more than just making out, huh? Did you pop that boy's cherry?" I asked as a joke, always appreciating ways to poke fun at Stefan.

Caroline's jaw dropped as she stared at me with a flabbergasted expression. "Oh my God, _how_ did you know that? Isn't that just precious?"

_Really_? _Precious Stefan was a virgin? Daaaaaamn_!

I just stood there, frozen in place as I blinked at her in complete shock.

"Wait, you _didn't_ know, did you?" she said when realization hit. "Oh my God, I tattled on Stef! Damon, you _can't_ tell him that I told you, alright? I _swear_ he's come a long way since then! I mean he does this really weird thing because of the shape and arch of his-" she started prattling on in hushed tones, moving closer to me, her hands clasped in a pleading motion.

"Du-ude! I do _not_ do girl talk!" I burst out hastily before I could find out the end of her sentence. "You know what? I gotta head out to meet Elijah, so congratulations on all the sex you've been having with my little bro."

With that, I turned around and quickly walked to the opposite direction. It was such a shame I had quit drinking.

"Yeah, okay, same to you! Good chat!" she called out behind me.

Perhaps it was time Elena and I got our own place to live.

* * *

_Elena's POV __(because Damon's still traumatized by his run-in with Blondie)_

Two hours ago, Damon had tossed me the key to his Camaro, instructing for me to get into the driver's seat before heading to the hospital. Despite my initial objections, he was adamant that I drove due to his lack of sleep. The moment we arrived at the hospital, he headed straight for Anna's room with me tailing behind him, noting that Anna's mother, Pearl was already inside and in deep conversation with Elijah. The moment she spotted Damon, however, her face immediately scrunched up, breaking into sobs as he ran over to comfort her.

Watching Damon hugging another woman, with him whispering comforting words into her ear and the way his hands rubbed her back gently was a little uncomfortable for me, but I reminded myself that he was Damon; Mr. Nice Guy and helpful to a fault. He was also obviously close to little Anna, so of course it made sense for Pearl to trust him implicitly.

After a brief introduction where he referred to me as his girlfriend – earning him an eye roll from me - I hung back in the background, watching Damon being in his element and kicking ass at his job. He had such a natural and nurturing way about him that made me feel in awe of him and basically every social worker out there who just doesn't quit. It's a tough job, doing what he does, and yet he still finds the strength to keep at it, never backing down no matter how hard it might get.

Social workers like Damon deserve medals for the work that they do.

I was just sitting down on the couch in a corner by the windows - the very same one where I first learnt the story of Anna's past – toying with the instrument that I gave to her as a belated Christmas present, thinking about how happy she seemed that day. My fingers were running softly along the ivory keyboard when Damon led Pearl over to take a seat beside me.

"Sorry for leaving you alone for so long, babe. Police business and all," he said by way of explanation, leaning down to press his lips on my cheek, making me feel self-conscious in front of the anxious mother. "Hey, would you mind keeping Pearl company while I have a chat with Elijah?"

I shook my head and smiled shyly at the woman in question while he thanked me and left us alone for a while. "So how are you holding up, Pearl? This must be so hard for you."

"Oh God, that-that's such an understatement," she said shakily, drawing in a deep breath. "I really thought that the nightmare was over when my ex-husband went to prison. I mean, never in a million years did I ever imagine that he could come back and take my little girl away."

I saw the shimmer of tears in her eyes again, so I inched closer to her and gave her a consoling pat on her arm. "I don't think _any_ of us saw that coming. When we found out that she was missing last night, Damon was beside himself with worry. You must know that he loves your daughter very much."

"I _do_ know, and I'm so grateful for all he's done for our family. Damon tells me that you've been spending a lot of time with Anna, too. In fact, you were the one who heard her speaking again, weren't you?" she asked, her eyes wide with wonder.

She was gazing at me like I was some kind of miracle worker or something, the way her face had brightened up at the idea of her daughter talking again.

"Yes, I was here when she chose to speak for the first time last year, but it was the most recent visit with Damon that she said a lot more. I bought her a gift, _this_ one," I informed her, gesturing to the toy I've been holding since I sat down on the couch. "She was so excited to play with it, and she'd giggled out loud before she proudly showed it to Damon. Then, she'd reached out with her tiny hands and joined both Damon's and mine together, saying how he and I made a happy family. This was _before_ we started dating, mind you. It's like she knew even before _we_ did."

I gave a watery smile at the memory, seeing the tears welling up and spilling over the older woman's eyes as I fought to hold my own tears in check. Soon, we were both dabbing at our eyes sheepishly, sniffing loudly.

"I'm glad she forged such a close connection to you and Damon, but _you_ in particular," Pearl said. For some reason, she opened up to you in a way that she never did with any of us, not even Damon whom she is _crazy_ about. I think that she could sense something in you that made her _want_ to talk. I wonder what it was."

She turned in her seat to scrutinize my features, her eyes wandering over me as if looking for some hints. That's when I decided to share a little of myself, if only to distract her from her current worries.

"Maybe she could recognize another victim of abuse," I answered vaguely, letting her come to her own conclusions.

She released a gasp and then leaned in to whisper, "Oh dear! I'm so sorry to hear that. Who was it?"

"My ex-boyfriend of two years. It's fairly recent, too, the last incident being last December," I divulged, swallowing thickly. Honestly, I didn't expect to open up to a complete stranger but I found it oddly comforting when I knew that Pearl could instantly understand without the need for details.

"December!" she exclaimed in shock. "How bad was it?"

Bad enough to cause me to shut down in the middle of an intimate moment with Damon. "It was _very_ bad, so bad that I wonder if I'll ever get over it. Bad enough to want to run far away and never look back," I admitted out loud, surprising even myself since I never even realized my need to take flight, to leave this place I called home.

"Distance doesn't help at all," she replied quietly with a faraway expression on her face. "You may move to another state and build a new life for yourself, but there won't be a day that goes by that you don't remember what he did to you. And you'll suffer in silence because you don't want the poison in your old life to taint your new one. But it does. It never ends and it creeps up on you. And then all the mistakes you made in the past comes back to bite you one day by hurting the people that you love."

Like Anna. Or Damon.

My heart squeezed painfully at the thought of Damon being hurt because of me. What if I never recover from this? What if, by doing nothing about Mason, I would just end up pushing Damon away because of my emotional scars?

"So, I will always live my life _this_ way? As a victim?" I inquired, horrified at my own bleak thoughts.

"You don't just stop being a victim just because he stopped hitting you. It only stops when you speak out. I waited too long before I finally did the right thing and put the bastard in jail. It was too little, too late. He'd already set his sight on Anna and now, I don't know if I'll ever get her back," she broke down at the end, reminding me of what we're there for.

Her daughter was missing and I was so wrapped up in my own problems that I failed to comfort her when she needed it. But then again, what could I possibly do or say to make it better? It was a tough situation to be in, unable to fix the past and having no control over the future.

"Listen, you said yourself that I have this connection with Anna, right? Well, my gut tells me that she's okay, and that we'll see her again. When you do, you can then wrap your arms around her and tell her that you love her and that you're taking her home, regardless of what that idiot judge said," I said confidently, believing every single word that left my mouth as truth.

With a sob, Pearl enveloped me into a hug. Here was a woman who understood what I was trying to say; there's still _hope_.

"Thank you for saying that," she breathed into my ear before releasing me. "It's just…life is so unfair sometimes! It's not Anna's fault that she was born with a father like Alan. It still haunts me every day, you know, walking away from my little girl and not standing up to Alan before she got mixed up in the mess I had made. I let some _judge_, who didn't know _a thing_ about me, my ex-husband or my daughter, decide how to live my life. No judge should be allowed to tear a mother away from her own daughter. And look where it brought her! How is _this_ a better life for her?!"

We both turned to view the hospital room in unison, seeing just an empty room that was no longer brightened by the presence of the child who spent almost a year in it. Her absence was like a shock to my system, because this was _real_ life. As optimistic as I tried to be in my impassioned speech to Pearl, there was also a very real possibility that we would never see Anna again.

Because as Pearl had put it, life was unfair.

"Ms. Johnson?" a voice intruded from the doorway, garnering our attention. It was one of Elijah's guys. "Detective Mikaelson and Mr. Salvatore are hoping that you can join them in the visitor's room."

"Oh, o-of course," Pearl told him, flashing him a sheepish look while dabbing at her teary eyes, sniffing loudly. "I'll be right behind you, officer."

The officer hesitated at the doorway, his eyes now sliding over to mine. "Umm, Ms. Gilbert? Mr. Salvatore said to tell you to… err... 'stay put and not move a muscle' until he returns for you." As soon as he had delivered that message which must have been verbatim from my overprotective man, he nodded at us and left.

Resisting the urge to roll my eyes at the message, I reached over to hug her one last time before she left, offering my silent support for what she had to go through until this nightmare is over. When she drew back, her expression was one of determination.

"When you're sitting in the courtroom, giving your testimony in front of your abuser, you are basically taking back _your_ power," she explained patiently, imparting _her_ words of wisdom on me. "You are letting him know that you're waging war, and you are no longer afraid. _You_ are calling the shots now, not him. And the moment you look directly into his eyes when the jury reads out a guilty verdict, then and _only_ then will you start to heal. It's going to be tough and it's going to be a long process, but it's a start."

I nodded gratefully, gripping her hands tightly before she walked out of the room to rejoin the guys. I slumped back on the backrest, letting her advice swirl around in my head. The truth was I had been counting on Damon and the rest of them to fight my battles for me. I thought it was the smart thing to do for _me_ at the time, because of all the negative repercussions that came with being a rape victim in the public's eyes.

But by not giving my statement, would _I_ be to blame for the life of another innocent who could suffer the same fate as I did with Mason? What if he lost control again and raped someone, or worse, killed them? Would I be responsible for that, too? What if there's more than just _one_?

I had to suppress a shudder at the thought. Steeling my resolve, I made my way through the maze in the hospital, catching sight of Damon, Elijah and Pearl all engrossed in their discussion with their backs to me in one of the rooms.

I hurried forward, letting my legs guide me as I fished the keys to Damon's Camaro in my jeans pocket. I knew that Damon would probably have a fit if he knew what I was planning to do, where I was going. He would have wanted to come with me, but this _wasn't_ his battle. I had to go face my demons and I'd better do it before I lost my courage. I kept repeating Pearl's advice in my head, almost like a mantra as I unlocked the car and started the engine.

All I could do was to pray and hope that I would not lose my determination to see this through by the time I reached my destination.

* * *

As the car approached the familiar building, I slowed to a stop even as my heart began thundering. I kept second-guessing myself the entire way here, but I knew that with Pearl's words still fresh on my mind, this was the _only_ time I would have the courage to go through with this.

I stared at the entrance for a full five minutes, going over what I wanted to say in my head. When I woke up this morning, I had no idea that I would find myself here, in this very spot, making a decision that could impact the rest of my future.

Drawing a deep breath, I cut the ignition, and slowly pushed the door open before stepping out on unsteady feet. I timed my breaths to every footstep that I took, focusing on getting to the entrance without letting my fear crumble down on me with its weight.

I stood at the bottom step of the building for a long time, allowing a million different thoughts rotate in my head until a prominent voice that sounded suspiciously like Damon's whispered "Be strong, Elena."

I obeyed my inner Damon because even in imaginary form, he seemed to be what I listened to above all others.

I took the steps one at a time, and continued on straight until I was standing in front of a man I didn't recognize.

"I-I need to make a report," I began hesitatingly, almost retreating the moment his eyes peered into mine. "A-against Mason Lockwood," I added, feeling my heart constricting painfully.

The man's ears perked up at the sound of that name. "Lockwood, huh? And what is the charge, miss?" he asked kindly.

I had to lick my lips before I could answer with the words I had dreaded to say for a while now. At this point I was amazed that I could even stand at all, what with not being able to breathe. "Mason Lockwood r-raped and abused me. And I want – no, I _need_ him to pay for what he did to me."

Phew.

* * *

**My twitter: cgsa_cher**

**KRISTI (tukct81), hope you enjoyed the virtual donuts I sent you as thank you for being my beta. Okay, so it was masqueraded as a way to torture you and get you drooling, but I think you can appreciate my gesture as nothing but one of good intentions. :D**

**BAD NEWS****: You guys know that Anna's story is based on a real life story, right? Well I'm not sure if I'm just that good a psychic or that somehow this story is coming true, but I actually met the real ALAN ASSHOLE at a grocery store on Monday. I thought he was still in custody, but apparently, he's a free man now. I felt disgusted, seeing him again, and I immediately turned away before he could talk to me. I don't know what's the update for his son (victim) and mother, but I hope that they're okay. ICK. How many showers have I taken since then? TOO MANY TO KEEP TRACK OF.**

**YES, THERE ARE REAL MONSTERS IN THE WORLD. Live your life with your eyes wide open. **

**Read and R-E-V-I-E-W please, if you've felt anything for this story or the characters. Thank you! **


	22. Chapter 22

**Author's Note: Sorry for the LONG wait for this update. My country was going through our most important election and we were all so wrapped up with it. The party I was rooting for LOST. And there's a rumor of an upcoming racial clash.*sigh* **

**Oh well, at least I'm still alive. This might be good news for some and bad news for others. Guess you're gonna have to put up with me for just a little while longer. **

* * *

**A Woman's Worth: Chapter TWENTY TWO **

_(Damon's POV)_

I stood at the entrance of Mystic Falls General, waving at the departing taxi that carried a somber and restless Pearl in it. I wished that I could do or say something that would help to put her mind at ease, but of course nothing helped. The woman just wanted her daughter back safely in her arms.

Sighing wearily, I rubbed the back of my neck, feeling the tensed muscles with my fingers as I made my way back into Anna's room. After the intense discussion about Anna's ongoing case with both Elijah and Pearl, I felt as if I hadn't seen Elena for hours. A quick check of my watch proved that to be right.

What was I thinking, leaving Elena on her own, no doubt worried out of her mind for almost two hours?

My steps quickened as I approached the colorful hallway of the Pediatric Department, eager to get back to my lady. As soon as I entered through the doorway, I immediately launched into an apology. "I'm _so_ sorry I took so long, El-"

I broke off mid-word when I was greeted with an empty sofa, and after a thorough perusal, it was obvious that the room was empty as well. I strode to the attached bathroom and poked my head in, failing to locate her. I was trying to stifle the rising panic in my chest by repeating in my head, "She's here somewhere."

I approached the nurses' station, asking as politely as I could if they had seen the attractive brunette who had accompanied me earlier that morning, but they just shook their heads unhelpfully. Not knowing what else to do, I immediately dialed Blondie's number while I hurried down the hallway, peeking into every single room that I passed on my way to look for Elijah.

"Hey, Care, it's me," I greeted as soon as the line connected, not giving her a chance to even form a greeting. "Listen, have you seen Elena or heard from her at all since we left this morning?"

"No, I haven't. Aren't you guys together at the hospital?"

My heart sank with disappointment at her answer but I refused to let myself go into a full-fledged panic mode. "Yeah, I was with Anna's mom and then when I went back….you know what? Maybe she's in the bathroom. I'll call you later," I said distractedly and hung up, not wanting to cause anymore drama when there was probably no drama to be found. For all I knew, Elena could be getting some food or drink while waiting for me.

For all I knew, I could be over-reacting.

I made my way to the cafeteria, my eyes still sweeping through the crowd for her as I half-ran along the busy corridors. I spent a total of thirty minutes searching through the entire building before I finally allowed myself to freak out a little with her prolonged absence. I caught sight of Elijah and made a beeline for him.

"Elijah," I hissed urgently, yanking at his arm to pull him aside, ignoring the man he was in the midst of conversation with. "Elena's missing. I can't find her anywhere."

"What?" his eyes narrowed on me as he pinched the bridge of his nose, probably thinking that I was being over-protective again, which I _could_ very well be, but this was Elena we're talking about. A quick study of my expression and he could tell how utterly serious I was being. "What do you _mean_ she's missing? I thought she was just here?"

Shaking my head in exasperation, I heaved a loud sigh, trying not to lose my patience with my friend who didn't seem to understand the severity of the situation. In hindsight, I probably should have been more sympathetic to the guy, seeing as he had been working through the night to look for my _other_ charge, but I was not of sound mind at that moment.

"I told you, I couldn't find her anywhere. She was supposed to stay put in Anna's room. I've been there and I even went to the cafeteria and looked into every room. She's nowhere to be found," I explained urgently, and then my eyes landed on the officer whom I had conveyed my message to. "Hey, you! Did you tell my girlfriend to stay put and not leave like I asked you to?" I demanded, catching him off guard at my unexpected raised voice.

"Yeah, yeah I did. I repeated everything you said _exactly_ like you told me to," he replied hastily, blinking slowly at me as if I had lost my mind. Perhaps I _had_.

"Then why isn't she there? Do you know where she is? Did she say anything about leaving? Did she say anything at all?" I fired the questions rapidly without waiting for his response. "Can you do anything besides blink?!"

I felt a hand grabbing my arm and pulling me back, making me realize that I had unknowingly moved threateningly closer to the officer in question. Looking back at the owner of the hand, I saw Elijah's anxious brown eyes on me, his gaze sending me a warning to calm the fuck down.

"We'll look for her together, okay? I'm sure you just missed her while you were running around the hospital. Maybe she just went to the bathroom or got some coffee and is now waiting for you right where you left her. Come on," he said, his hand pulling me firmly along behind him even as I flashed another disgruntled look at the officer I was yelling at.

Incompetent fool!

"Did you try calling her?" he asked after a while.

"She doesn't have a phone, remember? It didn't occur to me that she might need one because I was with her _all_ the time, which was _stupid_ of me, of course," I answered in a bitter tone. Really, it was a major oversight on my part, because it should have been the first thing I thought of after Rapewood broke hers.

Rapewood.

I froze in my tracks as a chill came over me, my legs refusing to budge. _Oh God, what if he took her? _

"What is it? Do you see her?" Elijah asked when he noticed that I was no longer beside him, his head swiveling left and right to seek for a possible reason for my sudden standstill.

"Mason," I managed to choke out, my face turning ashen when I voiced his name out loud. My gaze met his and I could tell when the same horrifying thought dawned on him, so together, we rushed over to the Pediatric Department; Elijah heading straight over to the nurses' station to ask if they had seen a man bearing Rapewood's description while I returned to Anna's room to look for any sign of struggle.

I didn't expect to see Elena anywhere in the room, but I was still disappointed when I didn't find her familiar figure sitting on the couch where I left her. Upon further inspection, there didn't seem to be anything out of place, but that could mean so many things. She could be anywhere by now!

"No sign of Lockwood or anyone who looks like him," the detective said upon entering the room behind me. "Maybe she got tired and left?"

"No, she wouldn't just leave without telling me. Besides, how would she-?" I trailed off with a frown when another thought occurred to me, my hands automatically reaching into my pockets to find that the keys weren't with me. "The car!"

Ignoring Elijah's puzzled gaze, I pushed past him and sprinted to the car park, racking my brain to recall where she had parked the Camaro this morning. I must have covered the entire area before I finally allowed myself to admit that not _only_ was my girl gone, but so was my car. Maybe my buddy was right; perhaps Elena really _did_ go home.

Pulling my phone out of my pocket again, I redialed the last number and waited, feeling so incredibly exhausted all of a sudden. All I wanted to do now was to find Elena, cuff her to me, curl up next to her and just sleep for days.

"Hey, Care. _Please_ tell me that Elena's at home now," I breathed out, fully expecting her to confirm my suspicions.

"Nope, I still haven't seen her. Damon, how the hell can you lose a fully grown woman?"

It was a fair question and one that I had no answers for. At Elijah's inquiring look, I shook my head sadly, prompting him to make his own phone call. I was only half-listening to the squeaks coming in an increasingly higher pitch from the other end of the line while I eavesdropped on Elijah's conversation.

"…..APB on a '69 blue convertible Chevrolet Camaro with the license plate Golf Bravo Delta Six Charlie One Eight, suspected to be driven by a twenty-one year old brunette named Elena Gilbert who is also missing. Last seen at the Mystic Falls General and then-" he stopped, his brows furrowed.

"Yes I did. Elena Gilbert," he repeated, his eyes now meeting mine as he listened in disbelief. "She is?"

My heart started racing in anticipation while I watched his expression, trying to figure out from his one-sided conversation if I should be relieved or even more nervous. At this point, I was no longer listening to Caroline so I rudely hung up in order to focus all my attention on the man in front of me.

"Well I'll be damned," he muttered under his breath, further increasing my alarm.

Was she hurt? Was she kidnapped? Was she okay? Where the hell could she _be_? "Talk to _me_, Elijah! Did you find her?" I demanded when he finally hung up, my patience wearing thin.

"Come on, we gotta go to the station. Your girl is fine. She's….I can't believe I'm going to say this, but she just made a report against Mason Lockwood," he explained in a daze as he started to lead me to his car.

She _what_?!

* * *

Shock. Confusion. Pride. Frustration. Relief. Joy.

Those were all the emotions that were running through me as I stepped into the busy police station with my best friend right beside me. Seeing my blue Camaro parked in front of the entrance set my nerves at ease, knowing that Elena was somewhere inside this building. To think that one tiny brunette were able to evoke so many emotions at once was something that never happened to me before.

I wanted to lecture her and kiss her to death at the same time.

I was ordered to wait at the side while Elijah made enquiries to find out the whereabouts of my elusive girlfriend, and I was in the midst of pacing a hole onto the tiled floor of the station when a door opened at the end of a long and narrow corridor. Two men exited from the room followed by a pale figure with red-rimmed eyes.

_My Elena_.

Before I knew it, I was yelling out her name with such relief, my legs automatically carrying me towards her. When she lifted her wet brown eyes to mine in the distance, her face immediately crumpled as soon as she saw me, her own body jerking her forward towards me. The moment felt dramatic, almost, the way we reached for each other in slow motion like one of those cheesy romance flicks from the 70s.

Before I could reach her, however, she was hijacked from me…by someone I didn't expect.

I didn't know who was more stunned; myself or her when Elijah enclosed her in his arms just a few seconds before _I_ could, and he was mumbling about how proud he was of her for being so brave, for having the courage to finally speak up, and for scaring the hell out of him at the same time.

That idiot! First he hijacked _my_ hug, and then he stole the words right out of my mouth?! Oh, _hell_ no!

I couldn't believe my eyes when Elena - while stunned at first at being embraced by this guy whom she had always maintained a healthy distance from – returned his hug with a soft chuckle, her own hands coming to wrap around his back.

"Thank you, Elijah, and I'm sorry that I scared you," she replied, sighing into his shoulders.

"But Elena, he has a _penis_!" I blurted out much louder than I intended, attracting the attention of the people around us, judging by the immediate drop in noise level in the room following my outburst. "I mean, it's attached to him and everything!"

I could have sworn that the words made more sense in my head than it did when spoken out loud. Scattered laughter could be heard in the room, but I was more interested in why my girlfriend was suddenly comfortable being in an embrace with another guy who wasn't me. I thought _I_ was the only penis she was at ease with, but still, I felt rather proud that she was beginning to move past that limited-edition penis issue.

Perhaps I would start making sense as soon as I had some sleep and not running on fumes. It _had_ been a rather dramatic weekend for me.

"Why, thank you, Damon. My colleagues had _no_ idea I was a man with _that_ particular appendage until you saw fit to announce it to them," Elijah quipped with an exasperated look after he released Elena, turning to her to say, "Your boyfriend had a little panic attack when he couldn't find you earlier. Such a drama queen, that one." With a roll of his eyes, he turned her towards me and gave her shoulders a slight push in my direction.

"Damon," she called out softly, her chin quivering suspiciously as if she was trying to hold back her laughter. "I'm okay, really."

And then she was flying into my arms, my hands catching her as she crashed hard into my body, her head burrowed into my neck as I pressed her closer. She _was_ okay, just like she said. I was almost out of my mind with worry, thinking that I might never see her again, and now I was holding her, my palm cradling the back of her head while the other caressed her back.

"Thank God you're safe," I whispered, weak with relief. "I really thought that I had lost you, too."

"Never." Pulling back to peer up at me, she gave me a weak smile before glancing around us, beginning to notice the unwanted and curious attention on our exchange. "Any update on Anna?"

I shook my head sadly, flashing a grim smile at her when she looked worried. "At this point, no news is good news, I think. Elijah's going to concentrate on the investigation and we'll know once he finds something, okay?"

She bit her lower lip anxiously, but seemed to accept my optimistic reply. "Okay, I guess we'll just have to wait. Can we go home now?"

I shot an inquiring look over to Elijah, who conferred briefly with the two officers who had been in the room with Elena, and then he nodded, just once, signaling that we were free to go. "Yes, let's go but you have a lot of explaining to do, missy!"

She had the gall to look a little sheepish before nodding in resignation, allowing me to lead her back to my car.

My car!

In the midst of the chaos in the case of the missing girlfriend, I had forgotten to be worried about my beloved Camaro. In fact, I was positively aghast that the thought of not seeing it again had never even crossed my mind. I grasped Elena's hand firmly and pulled her along until we were both standing beside my metal beauty.

"Oh, Chiquita, am I glad to see you," I breathed out as I reached over to run my hand lovingly along the top. Giving it an approving pat after resting my cheek against the sleek surface, I immediately pinned Elena against the side of the door and kissed her soundly, catching her by surprise.

"W-wha-?"

"Sorry, I couldn't wait until we get home to do that," I told her in a low voice, staring intently into her wide eyes. "I was _so_ afraid that I wouldn't have the chance to do that again. You, Miss Gilbert, are responsible for the massive heart attack I suffered back at the hospital!"

_Of course_ I felt a little upset that she went ahead and made such a big decision without first discussing it with me. Was it wrong that I wanted to be there for her, to support her _if_ and _when_ she decided to lodge a report against Lockwood? I definitely didn't count on her having a sudden change of heart. And why go through it all alone without any support system to cheer her on? I wouldn't even mind if she had Caroline with her, but for some reason, she decided to do it all on her own.

My heart ached for the girl in my arms.

But then she raised her guilt-filled eyes to mine, and suddenly I couldn't even remember why I was so cranky. It was obvious that she had been through hell and back during her time at the station, talking about her pain and reliving all the memories. I could see it, the toll the entire experience had taken on her, and I felt even crappier for letting her think that she had _anything_ to feel guilty about.

_Shame on you, Damon Salvatore. What a dick_!

"I'm _really_ sorry, but I didn't want to pull you away from Pearl. You guys were so worried about Anna and she needed you more, and I didn't want to waste anymore time, in case….well, in case I lost my nerves to go through with it. I'm so sor-" she began to explain, but I hurriedly pressed her cheeks together with my fingers, creating a comical lip pucker to stop her from apologizing. She had nothing to be sorry for, and I wanted her to know that.

Plus, she looked like an adorable little baby bird like that.

"Shh, Elena," I said soothingly, wanting to comfort her. "You have nothing to apologize for, really. You took me by surprise with the sudden one-eighty, that's all. I'm just…I wish that I could have been there for you."

She totally caught me off guard when she raised her own hands to clasp my cheeks, squishing them together before leaning up to press her lips to my puckered ones softly, sweetly while holding me in place. "You _were_, Damon," she declared shyly when we released each other, both stretching our jaw muscles. "It was _your_ voice that I heard in my head as I was climbing up those steps to do the hardest thing I've ever had to do. You were telling me to be strong, and all I wanted was to make you proud of me."

Sighing deeply, all I could do was to wrap her up in my arms and squeeze her tightly, trying valiantly to control my rapidly expanding pride-filled heart. "I _am_ proud of you, babe. I have _always_ been proud of you, like the way you've picked yourself up and survived despite everything that's happened. The way you've found a way to smile everyday and how you've brought our little family together. Hell, I'm sure in one weird way or another, you're probably also responsible for little Steffy happily losing his virginity to Caroline!"

In my eagerness to prove just how much Elena meant to me, I probably should have used that little thing called a mental filter but it was too late; the cat was out of the bag. I realized my mistake the instant she stiffened and pulled back to gape at me in shock.

"Your brother Stef? V-virgin? And _Care_?" she gasped in confusion and just like that, our romantic reunion was over. She burst out laughing right then, her palm slapped over her mouth as her shoulders shook helplessly. "They're so sneaky! When did they even start seeing each other?"

Okay, this wasn't what I had in mind. There were still so many things I needed to find out from Elena, especially about her unexpected change of heart and newfound willingness to talk about the attack. But I supposed that _that_ particular conversation could wait until we reached the privacy of her bedroom, surrounded by her teddy bear and Pig; all the things she loves and would feel safe with.

"Uh uh," I said, shaking my head. "You are not supposed to rejoice at this highly disturbing and potentially traumatizing news. But if you'll take a blood oath not to disappear from my sight again or wander off by yourself, making life-altering decisions and going to highly dangerous places like the police station, then I promise I'll tell you _all_ about the deflowerment of my brother, deal? I'll even throw in some visual aids while I tell you the story."

At some point, I should have realized that I was talking rather loudly in a very public place and right in front of the supposedly 'highly dangerous place' I was referring to, but I was just so darned happy to see Elena again that it didn't matter if I was getting side-eyed by some of the population of Mystic Falls.

"A _blood_ oath? Can't I just seal it with a kiss instead? And I'm not entirely sure I want to know about your brother's cherry-popping process, either. I'm just relieved to know that he's straight, after all," she said, her expression one of uncertainty.

"Yeah, I've wondered about that myself in the past. Personally, I think it's the hair," I quipped, unable to resist such an obvious opportunity for a jibe at my bro. "Fine, a toe-curling kiss it shall be, my lady. Now we better get out of here before Elijah arrests us for excessive public display of affection. We'll talk more when we get home, okay? We just have one pit stop to make first," I informed her as I unlocked her side of the car door and waited for her to get in before running over to enter through the driver's side.

At her inquiring gaze, I simply flashed her a sly grin and reversed the car, keeping my lips sealed shut for once. I didn't want her to put up a fuss for what I had in mind, knowing how she felt about me spending money on her.

Dating independent women can be such a major turn-on and a massive headache at the same time. It is also magnified a thousand times more when one's running on zero hours of sleep in the last thirty hours.

Crap, I probably shouldn't even be driving, huh?

* * *

_(Elena's POV)_

It had been a heavy and emotional day, and frankly, I was drained of energy by the time Damon and I got home. The pit stop that he had in mind proved to be another one of the day's events that contributed to the overall exhaustion I was feeling.

Our arrival at the mansion was yet another one; as soon as I walked through the door, I found myself wrapped in the tightest hug ever from my blonde best friend who didn't hesitate to berate me for my 'Houdini' act. I guess people really don't like it if I go _poof_ for an hour or two without telling anybody.

All through dinner, Damon and I were subjected to Caroline's lengthy sermon, her hand actions growing more and more animated the longer she spoke, complaining about our actions giving her worry lines.

"I mean, you _could_ have informed me, Elena! I'm only like your _very_ best friend who has stuck with you through thick and thin since we were munchkin sized! We used to tell each other _everything_! How can you just make this huge decision without telling me first? I could have gone to the station with you! I could have held your hand and offered you my support as you conveyed to the cops how big of a jerk Mason is! I could have been your witness! We would have been like Team Erin Brockovich or something cool like that, you know?" she had ranted with increasing volume as we sat unmoving with our heads lowered, unwilling to meet her eyes.

"And _you_!" she addressed Damon, her eyes flashing with frustration. "I trusted you with my best friend because I thought that you could keep an eye on her, but what did you do? You _lost_ her, that's what you did! _And_, you hung up on me…twice! Can you understand how worried I have been, waiting here, not knowing anything? Can you possibly understand the frustration I felt at being rendered helpless? You guys don't tell me anything anymore, so how do you expect me to trust you when it comes to Elena's well-being?"

In Damon's defense, I had to give him props for remaining silent while my best friend tore into him like that. I knew that he was tired from the lack of sleep and also from all the worrying and panicking he was doing all day. Despite that, the poor man stubbornly refused to let go of my hand even though he was stifling his yawns at the dining table and trying not to nod off.

"We're sorry, Care, but we didn't mean to alienate you. To be fair, I scared the hell out of Damon too when I took off without telling him. It's not his fault, and it's not like you tell me everything that's happened to you, either," I spoke up when she finally paused long enough to breathe.

"W-what do you mean?" she asked, her brows furrowing.

"I know about you and Stefan, Care!" I burst out, staring accusingly at her, amused when her face reddened. Right beside her, the quiet Stefan suddenly became very engrossed with the swirly patterns on the table cloth.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about," she shrugged awkwardly as she slid her eyes over to glare at my boyfriend.

Crossing my arms at her denial, I decided to confront the entire situation so that Damon and I could retire to my room at the earliest possible moment. "Oh, really? So you're saying that you _didn't_ take Stefan's virginity, and the fact that you two have been hooking up behind our backs is not true?"

At the mention of the v-word, Stefan released a choking sound and snapped his head up to glance up at me and then his older brother and then back to me again before muttering something that sounded like "Abort, abort," to the woman beside him, looking very much like he wanted to disappear from the room.

I actually thought that they made a cute couple, especially when they both turned beet red simultaneously. They even have matching blushes.

"Okay," Caroline clapped her hands together once as she stood up, plastering a fake bright smile on her face, a familiar sight that suggested that the conversation was over and should never be brought up again. "So I'm glad that we got to clear the air between us. You know, I really do feel like we've all bonded, don't you? It's great to clear the air once in a while, right? Umm, I'm sure you both are tired and need some alone time now, so I'm just gonna….." she trailed off nervously, all the while slowly retreating from the dining room. After an awkward pause, she suddenly raised her phone to her ear without any of us hearing it ring. "Hello? Mom! You need me home? Right this second? An emergency, you say?"

With a wave, she promptly exited through the front doors and left the three of us staring after her in various degrees of amusement.

"Isn't she just awesome?" Stefan breathed out all of a sudden, drawing our attention to his goofy grin. As if he only just realized that he was left alone under our scrutiny, he hastily stood up and cleared the table, mumbling about it being his turn to do the dishes.

Damon and I shared a knowing look and a chuckle at the newest couple's expense and proceeded to sneak upstairs, grateful that we had successfully survived the wrath of one Caroline Forbes. He walked me to my bedroom door, kissed me on both cheeks, my nose and then finally, buried his lips onto mine, pressing me against the hard door. Then, he disappeared into his own room and I was left to my own devices, much to my disappointment.

I took a long soak in the bathtub, letting the warm water ease my tensed muscles and fogging up the room. Then I spent a ridiculous amount of time just standing in front of the mirror, staring hard at myself, looking for a sign of change, _anything_ that may have resulted from my confession at the station earlier. Physically, I still looked the same, but there was a lift to my chin as I studied myself, my eyes shining brighter than when I had left this morning. They didn't seem as dead anymore, and I could see a glimmer of hope in them.

Inwardly, it seemed as if I was a thousand times lighter. Of course I meant in terms of weight, not the color of my insides. Eww.

An odd 'ping' sound drew my attention away from my random thoughts, and I cocked my head to the side to listen intently for the unfamiliar sound. It came again, and then I was instantly standing next to my bed, my eyes focused on the black rectangular thing on top of the pillow. Reaching out to pick it up, I ran my thumb over the surface and scanned the image that appeared on it.

_**NEW MESSAGE FROM DAMON S.:**_

_**Just popped your new phone's cherry ;)**_

It _was_ the very first text message I had received on the new phone. I couldn't help the smile that appeared unbidden on my face at his message and the cheeky nature of it. I thought that he would have been unconscious by now if he managed to even make it as far as his own room, but apparently, he was wide awake and feeling playful, even.

I had to roll my eyes at the reminder of my new phone that he insisted to buy for me, hence the reason for his pit stop earlier at a cell phone store in town. Despite my _many_ objections and stamping of feet, he had argued back that I needed a replacement and that I had a choice; either accept the latest iPhone model as an early Valentine's Day gift or we were heading over to the sex shop to buy shackles or handcuffs so that I wouldn't stray far from him again.

Needless to say, our bickering provided an entertaining afternoon to the salesperson and the patrons surrounding us. No points for guessing which option I opted for, though.

_**NEW MESSAGE FROM DAMON S.:**_

_**So, what are you wearing? **_

Apparently, it was impossible not to shake my head when it came to my boyfriend. Heaving a deep breath as I took a quick glance down at my oversized tee-shirt and baggy sweatpants, I fell backwards onto my bed, bouncing slightly as I laid spread-eagled in the middle of it. I lifted the phone and typed up a reply.

_**SENT MESSAGE TO DAMON S.:**_

_**Nothing but a lace negligee and perfume…**_

It didn't take long for his reply to come through. Considering the emotional day that I've had, I was surprisingly giggly when I read his response.

_**NEW MESSAGE FROM DAMON S.:**_

_**What a coincidence! That's EXACTLY what I have on!**_

_Knock, knock, knock._

The three raps that came through my bedroom door startled me, but I quickly called out, "Come in," half-expecting to see a man in pink lace. When the door swung open, the devilishly handsome blue-eyed man was leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed, emphasizing his muscular arms, no lace in sight. A pudgy pug breezed in from between his legs to jump up onto the bed to greet me with a wet tongue-bath on my chin.

"Liar," Damon accused with a familiar smirk before making his way into the room, closing the door behind him.

"Hello, Pot. I am Kettle but my close friends call me Black."

My eyes roamed over his version of pjs, similar to what he wore the night before. My thoughts took a turn to the naughty side as I replayed our impromptu make-out session in bed the night before, in every graphic colorful detail in full HD. It didn't help when he took a seat beside me and presented me with a close-up view of his impossibly long lashes and mouth-watering lips.

"You know, I actually think you look sexier this way, all covered up, leaving _everything_ to the imagination," he grinned, leaning back on the pillows behind him as he gathered me close, his head burrowing just below my jaw line. "Mmm, but you weren't lying about the perfume."

My brows furrowed, thinking about how exhausted he must be if he smelt something other than dog drool. "I was kidding about the perfume. I'm not wearing any."

"I _know_," he whispered into my neck, inhaling deeply before pulling back to peer at my face. "Is it okay if I spend another night here? I don't think I can sleep all alone in my own bed. It's so lonely and cold there," he said in a hopeful tone. "My bed kinda sucks nowadays."

I smiled to myself, feeling touched that he would prefer to be with me considering that he seemed about ready to drop at any moment, judging by the dark circles under his eyes. He didn't appear to have any trouble at all drifting off to sleep, even if he was standing upright. "Of course you can, Damon. It's lonely and cold here without you, too. Besides, I think I owe you an explanation, remember?"

"Ah yes, your little 'prison break' episode today," he sighed heavily as he dropped his head onto my shoulder, his body coiling around me as if I was his personal bolster. My hand reached up to curl around his neck, playing with his hair with my fingers, the ends still damp from his shower. He released a low satisfied grunt as he nuzzled closer, throwing an arm and a leg over me, trapping me under him as if he was afraid I would disappear again.

It felt safe, secure, like a warm cocoon I never wanted to leave from. It was rather scary how quickly I got used to his presence in my bed at night. It felt like we'd been doing this for years rather than mere days - _two_, to be exact. There was a deeper sense of comfort with him tonight, a level of intimacy that far surpassed what we shared last night, even. There had been a shift in our relationship, on _my_ part, mostly, but it was a significant change. Perhaps my trip to the police station had been more than merely doing the right thing.

I felt…free.

"My decision this morning was something that I felt was very personal, and it wasn't that I didn't _want_ you there with me, but it was more of a…journey that I felt I had to take on my own. Plus, you were already so stressed out from Anna's case that I didn't want to burden you any further. She deserves to have your full attention. I guess I thought that I should test out my courage without a safety net, see if I can rediscover my inner warrior, the one that had been buried inside me ever since my parents died. And I did it," I announced rather proudly, my mind doing a mental backflip and fist pump in the air.

Okay, maybe I didn't want to physically move to do it because I was so darn comfortable where I was.

"You bet your sweet little hiney you did it, my warrior princess. You have _no_ idea how proud I am of you! Even Elijah's proud, seeing as he stole my hug and my opening words of support, that thief!" he added begrudgingly, raising his hand so that his fingers linked with mine. "So, why the sudden change of heart? Did something happen at the hospital when I left you alone?"

I nodded, my chin brushing against his forehead. "_Pearl_ happened. She said some things that resonated with me so deeply that I could no longer ignore what I had to do. She told me about her past mistakes when it came to dealing with her ex-husband, and what she wished she had done, the choices she should have made with regards to Anna. I guess I just saw something in her story that applies to mine, and it was a split decision that I made in that moment."

"You mean to tell me that all this time I was trying to get you to open up, _all_ I had to do was to introduce you to Pearl?" he exclaimed incredulously, groaning against my chest. "Now why didn't _I_ think of that sooner?"

"No," I told him, not surprised that he would come to that conclusion. It wasn't as black and white as that. "It was a culmination of several things that happened recently; that group therapy session in Richmond, Anna's sudden disappearance, my little conversation with Pearl and most of all, it was also where I am with _you_. Our relationship and your untiring support have made me face a few hard truths that I wasn't ready to face before, and _all_ of that just made it seem like the right timing."

Damon was quiet for a long time that I thought that he had fallen asleep on me, but I couldn't be sure since I could only see the top of his attractive head. I swear there isn't one unattractive part of his body at all. I bet even his ear wax is sexy.

"So will you ever tell me the whole story of what happened? I mean, I _know_ what happened, but I would like to hear _your_ version of how you remember it," he said softly.

Oh God, I couldn't tell him right then even if I wanted to. I already had to relive the horrible experience once today, in front of two strangers who were staring at me the whole time with sympathetic eyes. I actually found it easier to tell it to people I didn't know personally than to someone whom I know I would hurt deeply by recounting the story.

It might have been therapeutic for me to talk about it openly, but at the risk of making Damon unhappy and angry on my behalf? It didn't seem to be the right time to do it, not after the day he'd had. Anyway, he needed to rest. It was a whole other day tomorrow and he still had tons to deal with.

"And I promise I'll tell you, but not now, okay? You need to sleep, Damon, and delving into the whole thing now would just keep us up for hours, right?" I answered gently, willing him to understand that it _wasn't_ a matter of not being able to open up to him, but more of a matter of timing.

"I-I actually have this plan to organize our own 'Unsilenced' group right here in Mystic Falls. We could gather all the previous victims and the current ones together, and share our stories. I want to break my silence on my experience by being the first to speak and hope that I can inspire others to do the same. I want to help as many people as I possibly can with my story, and why do it all the way in Richmond when I can do it in my own hometown?"

"Really?" he asked eagerly as he lifted his head to examine my face, gauging to see how serious I was with my latest plan. "That would be amazing! Ric would be so damn happy to hear that, and think about all the people we can reach out to with your survival story. I think it's a great idea," he gushed merrily, leaning in to smack his lips against mine loudly, and then resumed his previous position, practically climbing on top of me.

He was sort of heavy as he slowly relaxed onto my body, but I enjoyed feeling his weight and warmth on me. I resumed stroking the back of his neck with my fingers, teasing his hair. My other hand turned _his_ hand faced up and traced random patterns on his palm, moving slowly and gently. It was just one of those moments where I felt an overwhelming urge to convey all the love I felt for him, to be as close as I possibly could to him.

I wanted to do more than just cuddling and exchanging innocent kisses with him. I wanted to make passionate love to this man whom I love with my entire being, the man who is so unfailingly patient with me, so sweet and thoughtful with my emotional state. If it hadn't been for last night's brief episode that featured Mason in the midst of an intimate moment with Damon, I would have braved another attempt to surrender completely to the man I love more than my own life.

"Damon?" I murmured, tipping my head down to catch any sign of movement from the still man above me. When he didn't respond, I started noticing the way his breathing pattern had changed and he was most likely, asleep.

My poor weary prince. I pressed my lips on the top of his head and cradled him tighter, sighing in satisfaction when he, too, snuggled even closer to me unconsciously. "I promise I'll be ready very soon, and when I am, you better be prepared for me to rock your world, Damon Salvatore," I vowed with a whisper before closing my eyes and let sleep claim me.

* * *

"Yes, that's _exactly_ how I like to hold it," Damon's deep voice reverberated in my ear as he pressed himself against my back, our bodies touching from our heads to our knees. "Hold it firmly, feel the weight in your hand, and don't be afraid to show it who's boss."

I let my eyes drift close and leaned back against his hard body, his arms both wrapped around me, his fingers guiding mine as I grasped his weapon in my hand. With his breath tickling my sensitive ear, and the way he was standing so close to me, I couldn't help but to squeeze a little too hard, causing him to wince when he felt my fingers tightening around his.

"Hey, hey, ease up, babe. It's not a pressure ball. You have to treat it gently, but firmly, always remember that it's an extension of your hand, not some toy you just happen to be holding. Also, you want to squeeze it gently, not pull hard. Like this," he instructed, showing me exactly how it's done.

My eyes now wide open, I watched with fascination as he demonstrated with his own fingers wrapped around the grip frame, his forefinger looping through the trigger guard. I had a healthy respect for all types of weapons, especially ones that could create holes in people's bodies.

Damon had taken me to the local outdoor shooting range, right after another quick check-in with Elijah and Pearl at her hotel. He thought that it might be a good idea to start training me to be familiar with his licensed pistol kept securely in his bedside drawer. He probably expected me to start carrying it around in my purse, right next to the iPhone he got me yesterday.

We had woken up that morning in a tangle of limbs; him spooning me from behind, his arm around my waist while_ I_ spooned a snoring pug, her drool spilling all over my sheet. I supposed the three of us provided an adorable sight for anyone watching, but it was doubly cute when we woke up to find Mr. Cuddles being all snug and comfortable between Pig's paws. We were like the spooning foursome.

"I got it. Can we shoot something now?" I asked eagerly, impatient to go all action movie-star-like. "I really want to hurt that piece of paper real bad."

I gestured to the target placed in the distance, in front of a wall of stacked sandbags. He nodded his approval and we both placed our ear muffs and transparent eye covers on. I pointed the gun in my right hand, closing an eye as I aimed it straight for the black and white target with a bulls-eye picture on it. I placed my finger on the trigger and squeezed, and then I was propelled backwards when it went off, the force of the shot knocking my aim off.

Luckily, Damon was standing right behind me and caught me in time before I had another one of my klutzy moments.

"Woah, that was….awful. Did I hit anything?" I asked, squinting into the distance.

"Well, let's just say that I hope there wasn't an airplane or a bird that happened to be flying by when you shot that thing."

_Whoops_, I thought as I turned my head upwards, expecting to see a poor feathered friend or a huge metal bird falling from the sky. Maybe I got lucky with the self defense thing, and perhaps guns were _not_ my thing, after all. I _could_ carry a pocket knife around; at least they are less bulky than a pistol.

"Relax, I don't think you killed anyone….._yet_," he teased, propping me up in position again, obviously expecting me to take another shot.

"Maybe I should stick with hand-to-hand combat. I mean, I don't want to accidentally shoot anything, even birds," I declared, my eyes still scouring the skies guiltily.

"Again," he prodded firmly, so I tensed my body up, aiming the gun with _both_ my hands this time, and again, the impact of the shot made me rear backwards. "Yeah, you know what? I'm thinking nunchucks for you so that we can protect all flying creatures."

I swatted his arm playfully at his insulting insinuation but I privately agreed with him. But at least I learnt something about guns; like how we don't exactly mix well together and I was crap at it. So, for the sake of all airborne living creatures, I dutifully passed the gun back to him.

I watched in silent admiration as he took my place, hesitating for only two seconds as he took aim and fired four consecutive shots, the deafening sound ringing in my ears despite the ear muffs. When he pulled the targets towards us with a push of a button, I could see that all four of his shots actually landed within the bulls-eye area.

"Show off," I muttered once we removed the muffs after seeing his smug expression.

Any retort from him was temporarily postponed when his phone vibrated in his pocket, so we quickly made our way back indoors to return the gears as Damon answered the call.

"Hey Elijah," he greeted straightaway. "An update already?"

I waited impatiently as he frowned while listening to Elijah's voice on the other end. "The good news first, I guess," I heard him say as he flashed a puzzled look at me. "But that's great! Did he confess to anything?"

I bounced on the balls of my feet at the sight of the wide grin spreading across his face, and I felt hopeful for once. I didn't know if this was news of Mason or of Anna, but either way, anything that could make Damon smile broadly was a huge plus in my eyes.

He released a snort and then gave a roll of his bright blue eyes. "Figures that the coward would hide behind his lawyer! Okay, what about the bad news?"

Once again, I had to wait patiently to attempt a guess at the second news from Damon's reaction, but he only seemed more and more confused as he listened silently.

"What does that mean, exactly? How is one related to the other?"

This time, I couldn't make heads or tails out of that reply, so I just had to grit my teeth and try not to tear my hair out.

"Okay, thanks for the updates, Elijah, but I should clue Elena in before she grinds all her teeth off or something," he told his best friend and hung up after a quick goodbye.

"Tell me," I prompted without any preamble.

Pursing his lips, Damon regarded me with interest before shooting me a question that came out of left field. "Does Lockwood know Anna's father personally? I mean, are they friends or have had any business dealings in the past?"

Puzzled beyond words now, my forehead creased as I wracked my head for an answer. "I-I'm not sure. I don't _think_ so, at least I haven't heard Mason mention Alan's name before. Why?"

"Elijah just told me the strangest thing. The good news is that they have already picked Lockwood up and he's in their custody right now and will be formally charged soon. Not surprisingly, he denied all allegations and insisted that anything sexual that happened was completely consensual. He's threatening to countersue for defamation of character and for causing 'emotional trauma'," he explained, his fingers lifted up to indicate the quote-unquote action.

"_Of course_ he did," I answered with a shake of my head. Classic Mason; always trying to pin the blame on anyone else but himself. "What about the other thing?"

"Well, after some investigation on that bastard Alan, the police found a record of his visitors over the last few months and guess whose name recently appeared among the list?"

_Holy shit_. "Mason?" I gasped out, connecting the dots from his earlier question.

"Mason," he confirmed, nodding his head.

_Holy shit multiplied by a hundred_.

* * *

**My twitter: cgsa_cher**

**KRISTI (tukct81), I keep repeating my gratitude to you in the same manner at the end of my chapters. Am I boring you yet? Are you tempted to yell out, "I heard you the first time!"? So, in order to change things up, I have decided to plan a trip to visit you in US one day. We can have a girl's night out and party until the wee hours, like until 9p.m. **

**Come on, you and I both know that we suck at partying hard, and would rather just chill out in our pjs and drink smoothies instead while watching cute animals on TV and crying over Hachi. Deal? ;) **

**As for my beloved regular readers and reviewers, thank you for sticking with this story! It's ending soon, I promise! You will all be rid of me really soon! So please continue to leave me your thoughts and we will chat more! **


	23. Chapter 23

**Author's Note: WHAT?! **

**None of you read my A/Ns anyway. Just pretend I said something witty and then snort with laughter, okay? **

**Oh, I just had to share that this chapter flowed like the icky river of vomit after a bad case of food poisoning. Now get THAT mental image out of your head! *kicks all the people who read the last chapter but did not review* *vomits on you* *chunky vomits in your mouth* *evil laughter***

* * *

**A Woman's Worth: Chapter TWENTY THREE**

_(Damon's POV)_

"No, Elijah, for the hundredth time, NO!"

There I stood, with my arms crossed in front of the kitchen sink, glaring daggers at the harassed-looking detective. For the third consecutive day, we were in the midst of yet _another_ disagreement about his insane request that I felt was out of line.

"Whoa, first date flashback," came Ric's voice from behind us, leisurely walking over to join in on our heated discussion. "That reminded me of what I said to Elijah when we first hung out, remember? Did he ask you to put your hand down his pants, too? Tsk tsk tsk."

Ric's joke earned him two eye-rolls and an exasperated sigh from me. "Ric, Elijah's doing it again!" I complained loudly, releasing an angry huff as I sank down onto a barstool.

"Oh, so now you've resorted to _telling_ on me?" Elijah exclaimed in disbelief, running his fingers over his perfect hair in frustration. I watched jealously as the strands fell back into place as neat as before he messed them up. Clearly, he had magical hair.

"Settle down now, children," Ric said calmly, plonking his ass down on the stool next to mine. "Tell Papa Ricky what's this lover's tiff about and then we'll fix it, okay? Is this about Lockwood again?"

I released a snort, proving that it _was_ in fact about that douchbag. "Well, he's asking El-"

"Why does _he_ get to go first?" Elijah demanded, sticking his thumb in my direction before turning to address the sandy-haired man who was chuckling and clearly enjoying himself. "I just don't understand why he won't allow me to ask Elena to go see that bastard to help with Anna's case! For the past two days, I've been asking – no, _begging_ – to see if Elena's willing to go talk to Lockwood for us. I mean, this is a missing little girl we're talking about, and we have no other leads at the moment."

As guilt-ridden as I was for Anna's continued disappearance, I could understand that Elijah was only trying to do what he can for the case to move forward, but it didn't have to involve Elena. "And since when do criminals get to call the shots? Just because Rapewood refused to talk unless it's with Elena, suddenly we all have to cater to his every whim and fancy, is that it?" I asked sarcastically, hating the idea of Elena being anywhere near that piece of filth. "If you have to use a civilian to solve your cases for you, then I really have to question how good the police are at their jobs in this town."

"This is not about how efficient we are, but about how Elena can actively contribute to this investigation," the detective said through gritted teeth. "Anna's been missing for _almost_ a week, Damon! Your _other_ charge is probably scared shitless, crying or she might even be _dead_! All we know is that Lockwood had been over to visit Alan once in prison, and that's fairly recent, too. Despite our interrogations, he has refused to tell us anything, other than he'll only talk to Elena. We've hit a major wall and with very little else to go on. She might just be the only who can get him to spill," he finished in a pleading tone.

I felt for the guy, I did. He seemed to be at the end of his rope, barely getting any sleep as it was. But, there were _other_ ways to get the bastard to talk. A more _painful_ way.

"And what do you suppose he'll say to her, huh? Do you think he'll magically confess to everything upon seeing her?" I asked incredulously, shaking my head at the same time. "No, he won't. The second she enters that room, he's going to bully her into retracting her statement with some vague threat about Anna. Come on, Elijah, you know as well as I do that that's what a desperate man in his situation would do. If you want the guy to talk, you twist his arms a little. You insert some splinters under his nails or torture the truth out of him, but you leave my girlfriend out of it!"

Elijah was about to open his mouth to argue but then 'Papa Ricky' held out a hand and cut in. "Okay, before you boys pull at each other's hair or break a nail, I'm just going to step in and give my two-cents, okay?" he asked, his eyes shifting to and fro between us. We both nodded and waited while he stood up, looking all important-like.

"I get where you're coming from, Elijah, really I do. But I'm going to have to agree with Damon in this case," he began, causing me to glance over to the silent Elijah with an 'I-told-you-so' look. "If this was any other situation, then I would say that sometimes, yeah, you might need to involve a civilian to assist in a case. But this _isn't_ one of those times because it's _Elena_ and the bastard was her ex who abused _and_ raped her. No matter how you look at it, it's not right to ask her to see the man who caused her so much pain, not until it's absolutely necessary, like in court when she's trying to put his ass in jail for a very long time."

At the other man's crestfallen expression, I reeled in my smugness at having Ric agree with me and flashed him a sympathetic look. "Look, Elijah, I know that you're doing all you can to find Anna, but I'm sure you guys can find some other way to find out more about Lockwood's relationship with Anna's father. Have you forgotten how traumatized Elena was when she first came to live with me? What do you think is going to happen when she sees him again and have all those fears and nightmares coming back to haunt her? I'm just trying to protect her, that's all."

"I know, and I get it. I'm just…working my butt off and I still have nothing to show for it," he finally conceded after a lengthy pause. He seemed so disheartened, so at a loss that I wished that I could help somehow. I wouldn't mind volunteering for a shot at torturing Rapewood if it came down to it.

This time, it was Ric who spoke up, ever the peacemaker among the three of us. "Well, at least _one_ criminal's locked up, right? How's that going by the way?" he wondered, referring to the rapist.

"We brought him to court before a judge and as expected, he was denied bail. But I heard that his family is going to appeal seeing as he _is_ a Lockwood, and therefore, a 'highly esteemed member of society'," Elijah quoted, shaking his head at the ridiculous notion. "It's not likely, so I wouldn't be worried."

I frowned at that, not particularly comforted by his choice of words. "Not likely isn't the same as impossible, Elijah. _Can_ it be appealed or not?"

"Well, technically, it _can_, but very _rarely_ does it happen. I mean, unless you're a well-known public figure or-"

A door slammed in the distance and then the sound of high heels and girlish chatter could be heard from the front of the house, effectively halting our serious discussion. I heaved a sigh of relief upon knowing that the girls were back, safe and sound.

It took a lot of cajoling and pleading looks from Elena before I would agree to a shopping session at the mall. Elena's argument was that her ex was in police custody and therefore she wasn't in any danger, which really didn't do much to convince me, but I was swayed by her obvious eagerness to have something to do to de-stress herself.

Okay, not really. I was tricked into agreeing when she distracted me with her lips and hands. For a girl who had determined the extent of how far we'd go in terms of our physical relationship, she seemed to be the one who had the most trouble keeping within the line. As tempted as I was to do more than merely kissing in the 'safe zone', _I_ had been the one who had to reign in the passionate brunette who apparently had no such respect for my barely-there restraint.

It had been during one of our more risqué make-out sessions last night, with my shirt on the floor and her writhing delectably on top of me that she made her request, all the while raining kisses down the length of my chest. I couldn't be certain, but my guess is that I had agreed to her going out with Caroline sometime between her running her tongue around my flat nipple and dipping into my belly button. Fortunately, I still had the sense to stop any further exploring, resulting in me taking a midnight shower again before returning to her bed.

That woman will be the death of me!

"Hi guys," the naughty girl in question greeted as she practically skipped into the kitchen with a small paper bag, a broad grin on her glowing face. A step behind her was Blondie with a similar grin, looking windswept and energetic as she pranced in like she owned the place.

As usual, whenever Elena entered a room, I automatically oriented myself towards her. Apparently she felt the same way because she immediately made her way over to my side, throwing an arm around my waist before leaning in to brush her lips against my cheek. I almost rolled my eyes at how tame that peck was compared to the one she planted on me last night, being all vixen-y and seductive.

The lady certainly knew how to behave out in public, but I knew better.

"Hey, babe," I whispered in her ear, noting with satisfaction at her gleeful expression. "So did you have a good time?"

She nodded vehemently and then exchanged a secretive smile with her blonde bestie, who then giggled out loud. "Yes, we all had a very productive day, in more ways than one," she replied cryptically.

"Speaking of which, where's the protection detail we sent to go with you?" Ric piped in, leaning to the side to see if he could spot the guy who was supposed to keep the girls safe.

"Right…_whoa_…here," a disembodied voice said, and then we saw a pile of paper bags floating over towards us rather clumsily. "Care, where do you want me to put all these?"

A sheepish Caroline hurried over to the two-legged pile and started removing some bags carefully, setting them down on the floor in a disorganized mess until the owner of the voice was visible once more.

"I'm not so much of a 'protection detail' as a shopping bags holder," my baby bro laughed good-naturedly, appearing not to mind in the slightest tagging along with the girls.

If it seemed completely unbelievable for us to send Stefan as a bodyguard, it's because he _wasn't_. Elijah and I both agreed to have him out of the house when we planned to have our discussion about Lockwood's request as we knew that my brother would most likely spill his guts to Blondie, who in turn would reveal everything to _her_ best friend. So, we concocted an excuse to be rid of Stefan for a couple of hours, arming him with pepper spray as his only protective weapon.

In case of trouble, I knew that Elena would protect _him_. My badass girlfriend was amazing that way.

"Holy crap! Did you girls empty out the mall?" Elijah exclaimed, his eyes trained on all the colorful bags that now littered my kitchen floor. "How much can two tiny girls buy in a matter of hours anyway?"

"Well I just bought _one_ small little thing, because I don't have money growing out from my ears, but the rest is Care's. She has this magical rectangular card that she shops with. She named him Visa," Elena quipped with a little chuckle.

My girl, so darn funny.

Unable to help myself, my arms circled her waist as I pressed my lips against the side of her head, feeling at peace finally at having her back by my side. "So what's in that bag you're carrying? Can I see?"

"Nope," she answered quickly, hiding the item behind her back and out of my reach, my curiosity peaking. "It's just some girly stuff, that's all. You wouldn't be interested."

I glanced over at my brother and upon catching his eyes, I lifted an eyebrow as an unspoken question since he had been with them the whole time, but he just shrugged and continued to worship Blondie with his eyes. Never thought there'd be someone even sappier than me.

"Yeah, Damon. Don't be nosy," Care scolded with a wicked gleam in her eyes. "I'm sure crotchless panties and see-through thongs aren't your cup of tea, _are_ they? Come on, E, let's go and try them all on and have pillow fights," she suggested with a triumphant smile and proceeded to drag my sputtering girlfriend out of my grasp to head upstairs.

The four of us remaining in the kitchen stiffened at the imagery provided by the mischievous blonde, but none of us actually believed her. Not until Elijah started following after them in a trance-like motion, a dreamy look on his normally serious face.

"What the hell, man?" I croaked out, my throat tight as I reached out to stop him.

He blinked rapidly, looking back at us nervously. "What? She said 'Let's go, E'. I thought she meant E for Elijah." With that, his face broke into a wide grin, flashing his teeth at me. "Maybe it's time I go back to the station and do some actual work, huh?"

Stefan and I both gave a synchronized nod of agreement. "You _do_ that," he called out to the chuckling detective.

As soon as Elijah shuffled his way out of the house, we turned back around to see Ric still sitting motionless on the stool, except that he had his eyes closed and his face was scrunched up in concentration.

"You're thinking about the two girls upstairs, aren't you?" I confronted him, knowing full well what his answer would be. I was wrong.

"_Three_," he corrected promptly, his eyes still closed; only his face was split into a grin. "Mer just joined in with her doctor's coat on. Oh wait, now it's off. Stef, is Caroline always that ticklish?"

It was obvious what the Salvatore brothers had to do at that point. Wordlessly, we flanked the pervert from both sides of him and yelled at the same time. "Get out!"

I watched, amused despite my condemnation of his dirty mindedness, as he jumped at the loud sound, and then held up his hands in surrender. "Well, it's not like I'm imagining myself in there _with_ them! Oh shit, too late now," he chuckled to himself and then objected when Stef and I lifted him bodily by his armpits, half –carrying and half-dragging his ass out the front door.

"Jeez, I was kidding! I was kidding! You Salvatore boys sure are no fun when you're in love. Lighten up, guys," he complained loudly. As soon as he was past the threshold, we released his arms and felt some satisfaction at the shock in his expression when we slammed the door shut in his face.

Panting from the exertion, I reached out my hand and shook Stefan's, congratulating each other on our teamwork. But something that Ric had jokingly said stuck to me.

"Hey, so what's the deal with you and Care? Are you guys dating for real or just friends with benefits?" I asked, because apparently, I cared about Care. See how that worked out? "Because if it's just fun and games between you two, I hope you'll reevaluate things. I love her as a friend and you as my brother. It would suck if either of you get hurt, you know?"

That was the first time I've ever come close to declaring my love for my brother, and it came out so naturally that it even took _me_ by surprise.

He hesitated for some time, and I actually thought that he might not even respond, but then he said softly, "I went _shopping_ with them, willingly held their handbags while they went to the ladies' room, ate non-fat frozen _yogurt_ with them and then waited outside the shops like a dutiful boyfriend and lugged all Care's shopping bags home and didn't complain about it. What do _you_ think?"

"Atta boy, Steffie," I patted his back in approval, feeling at ease with the whole situation now. At first, I found it odd that he would first expressed interest in Elena to find out that he was sexing it up with Blondie all of a sudden. It even crossed my mind that my new gal pal had been his rebound girl for a spell, but seeing the love struck expression in his eyes was comforting.

For the first time in a long while, the Salvatore brothers were happy.

* * *

"Elena? You awake?" I whispered in the dark to the dark-haired beauty in my arms.

Once again, I found myself marveling at the fact that I was on Elena's bed. At this point, it was no longer just her bed, but mine, Pig's and the stuffed bear. Since I had practically moved into her room for the exception of my clothes, I had all my bare necessities in there with me; like my favorite pillow, my toothbrush, shaving kit, and my trusty pistol that was now kept in her side drawer. It occurred to me that the four of us would have been much more comfortable in the huge four post bed in my room, but it didn't seem to be the right time yet.

Besides, this room had become her safe haven, the place where she'd healed, one step at a time. It was where she had almost died from accidental overdose, but it was also where she was brought back to life. It was where we had exchanged our first 'I-love-you's, shared our first kiss, and bared our hearts to each other.

In fact, the very bed we were laying on had been the place where we were the most honest with each other and it was in that spirit of honesty that made me decide to interrupt our otherwise peaceful night.

"Hmm?" came her sleepy response.

"I need to make a confession."

Silence greeted my announcement, making me think that she had fallen back to sleep but then she kicked the covers off as she spun around to face me, our faces less than an inch apart. It would be oh-so-easy to simply tilt my head a little lower, and then all thoughts of honesty would have been the furthest thing from my mind.

But then she raised her eyes to meet mine in the dimmed night, and I could see so much uncertainty in them that it rendered me speechless. "Tell me," she whispered shakily, inhaling deeply as if steeling herself for what I had to say.

"I love you. _Never_ doubt that," I declared sincerely as a start, willing her to believe me.

"And I love _you_," she replied calmly, her lips curving upwards. "Was that the big confession?"

I shook my head, smiling sadly because I knew that she was nervous about what I had to say. "Mason has been asking to see you," I said without any further hesitation. Her brown eyes were wide as orbs as she stared back at me in shock. "The police have been interrogating him about his connection to Anna's father but the bastard refused to cooperate except to demand to meet with you. I just-I thought that you should know."

"But-but why? What does he want?"

"We don't know. For all we know, he could be using your concern for Anna as a way to threaten you into changing your statement or drop the case altogether. Chances are, he heard about her disappearance and decided to milk it for all it's worth. It's a desperate move from a desperate man," I told her, seeing the confusion and fear in her eyes.

"But he's visited that Alan guy, right?" she asked slowly, her mind working overtime to put the pieces together. "Maybe he really knows him. What if he knows where Anna is? Shouldn't we try to talk to him and see if he'll tell us?"

Shaking my head in response, I ran my hand up and down her arm, offering some comfort in preparation for the thoughts swirling in my mind. "Elena, you know Mason better than I do. Even if he knows something, do you really think that he'll help us find Anna if he doesn't get something in return? The guy's behind bars and facing major time for multiple offences. Don't expect him to give up any info he may or may not have without him asking for a huge favor in return, like his freedom."

"So you're saying that if it really comes down to it, I might have to choose between Anna's safety or Mason's jail time?" she summarized in horror.

Yes, that was _precisely_ the choice we all had to face, as Elena so aptly put it. If it really came down to those options, I really couldn't decide which one I'd choose. Of course little Anna's safety was of the utmost importance, but if Mason were to be released, there is no telling how many other women he'd end up hurting, not to mention Elena constantly looking over her shoulder for the rest of her life.

It was an impossible choice.

"Okay, we have to remember that we don't know anything for sure right now. We don't know if he's even involved in the kidnapping. Ric and I think that it's better to leave Anna's investigation to the police, while _we_ focus on getting that scum of the earth Mason off the streets. Anyway, I'm sure we don't need to make that choice right this minute," I assured her with a certainty that I did not feel.

She heaved a shaky sigh and then rested her head on my chest, her fingers squeezing mine in a tight grip. "For a moment there I thought you were going to tell me that you're leaving or something," she laughed a little nervously.

Pain gripped my chest, stunned that she would ever think that. I tilted her head up, gazing intently at her. "Now you're just being silly. I would _never_ leave you, you know that," I told her.

"Pinky swear?"

This time, there was no hesitation when I lowered my lips to meet hers as a silent vow that she had nothing to worry about. It would take nothing short of a miracle to make me leave her, ever. Taking a deep breath, I deepened the kiss just as she was starting to respond, her body sliding higher up as I buried my fingers into her hair, holding her face at an angle while I poured every bit of my soul into this kiss.

For now, she was safe, she was mine and I wasn't about to let her go.

* * *

My eyes opened in shock upon feeling the vibration of my phone under my pillow, the motion creating a deep buzz against my head. I reached under and snatched it up quickly with my right hand, fearing that the muffled sound could wake the sleeping beauty wrapped in my other arm. A quick glance at the clock beside me proved that it was still too early for a friendly call, so whoever it was, it must have been important.

I slid my thumb against the screen, noting that it was from an unfamiliar local number. "Hello?" I mumbled in a hushed tone, slowly extracting myself from under the covers while at the same time, gently flipping Elena over to the other side of the bed, her head turned away as her messy hair tumbled over her face.

"Damon, it's me, Pearl," a woman's voice said in a panicky voice.

"Pearl? Sorry, hang on for a minute," I replied back as I removed my other arm from under my unconscious brunette, studying her prone body as I tucked the blankets over her shoulder again. I brushed her hair away from her peaceful face before leaning back down to press my lips against her cheek, amused when she flinched at the scruff around my chin that was tickling her skin.

I padded barefoot over to the cold bathroom, closing the door behind. "Sorry about that, I didn't want to wake Elena. You okay?" I asked into the phone as I grabbed my toothbrush.

"He called me…Alan," she clarified when my mind blanked out, sounding terrified. "He's asking for ransom."

"Ransom? How much? Did he say anything about Anna? What else did he say?" I fired question upon question, my mind struggling to clear the remaining cobwebs of sleep, and focused on the issue.

"H-he said that Anna was safe and if I wanted her back, I have to prepare fifty thousand in cash and to wait for his call. I-I didn't dare to use my cell just in case he called me back, so I'm using the hotel phone. He also s-said to come alone and that if the police get involved in this, then I won't ever see my daughter again," she explained, sobbing quietly as she spoke. "Damon, what do I do? I don't have that kind of money on me!"

I pinched the bridge of my nose and squeezed my eyes closed, thinking of ways to help this woman. The fact that Alan chose to contact her for ransom after so many days didn't sit well with me. Something else was going down but I just couldn't tell what it was yet. "Okay, listen to me. Wait for me in your room and I'll figure something out. Just be calm and wait by the phone in case I need to call you later. Let me know as soon as you hear from him again. Does he know where you are?"

"Yeah, I don't know how but he knows I'm in Mystic Falls. But what about Detective Mikaelson? I'm not supposed to involve the police!"

An indecision gripped me at that moment, torn between whether or not to involve Elijah. To be honest, it wasn't my decision to make, but surely _I _wasn't equipped to handle this kind of criminal case on my own. "I'll handle it, Pearl. Just wait for me, okay? Sit tight," I instructed and hung up, my heart racing madly.

In terms of money, I could dip into my savings and part of my mother's insurance claims first, but the part about Elijah was a bit more tricky. I had a hunch that if Alan had known where Pearl was, he had been keeping an eye on her. That could only mean that he - along with Anna if she is still alive – are nearby, perhaps even in town. Left with no other alternative, I decided to turn to another person who would probably know what to do at a time like this.

I would have to call Ric for help.

* * *

_(Elena's POV)_

I woke up slowly, gradually, feeling cold. Without opening my eyes I stretched languorously, feeling all the muscles in my body tighten for a few seconds before I relaxed back into the cool sheets, spreading my limbs wide open.

My eyes flew open when I realized that my spread hands and feet should have hit another warm body by now. A quick glance around the room told me that Damon was already up and probably downstairs by now, which wasn't all that common. I had gotten so used to waking up with him right by my side every morning that this unexpected change was somewhat disappointing. Stifling a yawn, I headed into the bathroom and did my usual morning routine, getting ready for the day.

When I was done, I half-expected to see a dark-haired man lounging on the bed, waiting for me with a big smile on his face, but all I saw was an upside-down pug snoring on her back, her four pudgy legs in the air. Unable to resist her extreme adorableness, I sat back down on the edge of the bed, reaching for my iPhone with one hand while I reached over to pet Pig's enormous belly, knowing how much she enjoyed that.

As my nails tickled her stomach, I giggled to myself at the way her legs shook and trembled at my action. A quick check on my phone showed that I had a text message from Damon, left about twenty minutes before I woke up.

_**NEW MESSAGE FROM DAMON S.:**_

_Good morning, sleepy head! You looked so adorable and peaceful that I decided not to wake you. I'm heading over to Pearl's hotel and we may have a new lead on Anna so I'll be with her until we know more. Don't worry! We might need to leave the hotel, too, so you should just stay in and relax today. I'll call you soon when I find out more. Love you. XOXO_

_p.s. You drool in your sleep. :D_

Sorry, but I had to roll my eyes at that last part. I did no such thing!

I sighed dejectedly upon realizing that I basically had an entire day to myself sans Damon, and for the first time in a long time, I didn't know what to do with myself. Caroline had a class to attend so I was left to my own devices. I wasn't even sure if Stefan was home.

I settled for making breakfast after some thought and made my way downstairs, finding the usually homey mansion a little cold and creepy without the presence of the usual crowd. Luckily though, I heard Pig's pitter-patter on the floor accompanying me, and then she ran ahead of me, as if leading the way. Humming to myself, I rounded the corner into the kitchen, hearing Pig's excited bark…only to come face-to-face with the last person I ever expected to see.

"Hey, babe. I've missed you," the man said with a smile right before he reached out with a knife-wielding hand and pushed me over to the island, making me stumble into one of the stools, knocking it over.

I was too stunned to react other than to stand there bent over the kitchen top, my eyes refusing to budge from the man I thought was in police custody. "Mason?" I gasped, unable to believe what I was seeing. He held a motionless Pig in one arm, and pressed a Swiss Army knife at her neck. How was this possible? "What are you doing here? And how did you get in?"

"I guess the Salvatores aren't that big on safety and security." His eyes roved over my face and then lowered to the rest of my body before returning their gaze on my eyes. I felt violated just from that simple act alone. "For a girl who claims she got abused and raped, you sure look amazing, you know that? Love the new hair," he complimented, acting as if there was nothing unusual about him standing in the kitchen, holding a dog hostage while talking to the person who was trying to send him to jail.

I held out both hands, palms up to show that I wasn't planning anything stupid. "Look, I'm not going to run, okay? Just let Pig go and put the knife down and then we can talk."

"Oh, so now you want to talk, huh? And who names a dog a stupid name like 'Pig' anyway?" he chuckled, shaking his head as he looked down at the pug. Seeing as how he was momentarily distracted, I sneaked my hand down into my jean's pocket and withdrew my phone, intending to act casually but he caught me in the act.

"Ah ah ah, no you don't," he warned, waving the knife at me. "Put that on the table and push it towards me…slowly, or the pooch bleeds."

I weighed my options then, wondering if I would be able to make it out through the back door or to stay and confront him since I was worried about Pig getting hurt. What sort of a man would even _consider_ hurting an animal, even threaten one? That was just the lowest of the low, in my opinion. Wordlessly, I placed my phone on the island and pushed it over.

Mason nodded his approval at my cooperation and took it, switching it off before he placed it on the counter behind him. Then he placed Pig onto the surface, no doubt due to his arm getting tired. "Tell me, Elena, why didn't you come see me when I got locked up?" he asked.

"_Why_? Because I had nothing to say to you. Because after _everything_ you've done to me, I can't bring myself to see you as anything but a monster who ruined my life!"

He seemed incredulous at my outburst, and took a step towards where I was standing. "_I_ ruined your life?! _I'm_ the one facing jail time here, Elena! _I'm_ the one who's going to spend a good chunk of my life behind bars just because you decided to _lie_ to the cops that I did anything you didn't want me to do. You fucking accused me of rape!"

"It _was_ rape!" I burst out, feeling angry at myself for being weak when my eyes welled up with tears. "I didn't want it, _any_ of it, and you kept doing all those despicable things to me even though I said 'no' a million times. You used and abused me, Mason, and that's not _all_ you did. You _broke_ me," I sobbed uncontrollably, my chest heaving with every spasm that tore out of me.

"Funny, you don't look broken to me," he stated sarcastically, sneering at me. "In fact, you never looked better! I _was_ right all along about you and Salvatore, though. You did well for yourself, babe. Found a wealthy guy who took you in, living in a huge house, got yourself a new phone…and a pet," he observed, gesturing at a growling pug who wanted to get down from the kitchen surface.

It was too high for her to jump, and probably too scared to attempt to move. She could probably sense danger and didn't know how to react. She was no watch-dog, that one.

"Damon has been nothing but generous to me, yes, but more than that, he _loves_ me. He gives me the time and space that I needed to heal, and he respects me, which is more than I can say about how _you_ treated me. He saved me in every way possible and made me realized that I _am_ a strong woman, that all the bad things you ever called me neither defined nor held any power over me," I declared, feeling braver by the second. Then, I looked him in the eye and said calmly, "I am no longer that scared little girl that you can bully anymore. I am not afraid of you, Mason."

He shrugged off my show of bravado, looking around us. "So, where's your hero now, huh? He's not here to save you, is he? Let me guess; he's off to play the hero to _another_ woman with the missing little girl. What was her name again?" he asked, playing coy even as his lips spread in a brazen smirk.

"What do _you_ know about Anna?" I breathed out, recalling the conversation I had with Damon last night. "Did you have a hand in her kidnapping? Did you plan this whole thing out with her father? Where is she? Did you hurt her?!"

I was screaming by the end of my questioning, unable to contain my worry about the little girl, and about my own predicament. Was that _why_ he came here, to convince me not to press charges?

"Calm down, babe," he ordered, coming even closer now to push me down onto the kitchen stool. I almost gagged at his proximity. "What makes you think it was a kidnapping? I'm simply helping a guy reunite with his daughter, that's all. Nothing wrong with that. A parent should be allowed to see his own kid, after all."

"I can't believe you!" I said, feeling sick to my stomach as I watched an arrogant look came over his face. He seriously had no qualms using an innocent to further his own selfish cause. "Do you even _care_ that the guy was in jail for abusing his wife, his own mother _and_ that innocent girl you helped to reunite him with? He threw his own daughter onto the floor and hurt her so badly that she had brain damage! He's the _reason_ she was in the hospital all this time and not being able to speak!"

For a moment, I saw a glimmer of guilt behind his eyes as he heard my description of Anna's past, but then he hid any doubt he might have had behind a determined front. "Well then, I guess you better do something about it before he hurts her again, shouldn't you? Retract or change your statement to the police and everything goes away. I get to live _my_ life, you get to live yours and little mute Anna gets to reunite with mommy again. Everybody's happy again. Deal?"

I shook my head in disbelief, appalled at the nerve of the man. Damon was right all along; the man I used to love was no longer in there. I was a fool to ever believe he was. There wasn't even a part of him that was human.

"You're crazy!" I bit out, getting to my feet as I fearlessly regarded him eye-to-eye. "You are an asshole and a criminal, Mason. You don't deserve to be free after all the crap that you did. If anything happens to Anna, I'm going to make sure to add kidnapping and murder to the charges, you heartless jerk!"

Suddenly, his fingers were wrapped around my neck in a death grip, his face so close to mine that I could see that I had successfully pushed him over the edge by the crazed look in his eyes. My hands came up to pry his fingers off their choking hold, but then his other hand joined in and pressed the tip of his knife to my cheek.

"Don't push me, Elena! You would risk _her_ life for your own personal vendetta? If anything happens to her from now on, it's on _you_, not me, so don't be stupid. Make the right choice; my freedom for her life. What do you say?"

I could feel his hold on my throat tightened to the point where I could hear my own heartbeat in my ear and my head felt like it was going to explode. Everything else around me dimmed except for his face, now reddening with the effort he put into holding me still. Then my survival instincts kicked in, and I remembered that I had hours of training under my belt that he had no idea about.

"Off," I managed to wheeze out, using the last of my breath.

I let my eyes drift close and allowed my hands to drop as if they were dead weight, feigning that I was about to pass out. As expected, he immediately loosened his grip and lowered his other hand, the one that held the knife.

"What did you say?"

My eyes snapped open then, catching him off guard. "Off is the general direction I'm hoping you'd fuck!" I bit out before making my move.

Within the next few seconds, the heel of my palm connected with his nose, breaking the flimsy bone and sending him backwards as he yelled out in pain. He grabbed at his broken and bloody nose with both hands, the knife falling to the floor. I kicked it aside so that it slid under a table, hidden from his sight, and then I brought my knee up to his groin, making him double over.

With him writhing in excruciating pain, I quickly grabbed the helpless pug and ran towards the hall, not exactly sure where I was going. I heard a crash behind me, and upon turning back, I saw that he was struggling to get to his feet, grabbing onto the island and the barstools surrounding it to steady himself.

I was out of time.

I contemplated heading out the front door, but with the weight of the dog in my arms, and the lack of transportation, I really couldn't go far on my feet.

I had to look for another safe place. My body automatically made a run for the stairs at the thought of safety, and I hurried upstairs to my bedroom. I lowered Pig onto the floor and locked the door, dragging a heavy armchair to block the entrance. I looked around urgently, looking for a weapon of some sort, but I couldn't see anything I could use.

Then I remembered Damon's gun.

Just as the thought struck me, I heard multiple thumps from the hallway outside and then the sound of doors being flung open. Right on cue, Pig growled once and then released several barks at the direction of the door. I tried to shush the poor scared pug but it was already too late; the door knob twisted and the door rattled violently, followed by loud banging sounds.

I dove for the bedside drawer and picked up the pistol with trembling hands, noting the weight in my palm. I pointed it towards the door as I stood, terrified that it was going to burst open at any time.

"Elena!" Mason's angry voice came muffled through the wood. "God-dammit, if you don't come out now, then Anna's as good as dead! Do you hear me?"

My heart thudded in fear, but I stood motionless while I listened to the sounds coming from outside my room. I had no doubt that Anna was in danger, but even if I showed myself, I still had no guarantee that she would be safe. I had no contact to the outside world now, so I didn't have any means to find out. For all I knew, she could already be gone or dead by now and this was all just a ploy to get me to drop the case against him.

_Bang, bang, bang, bang._

Then silence.

I didn't know how long I waited, listening intently. Then I heard him speak again and _this_ time, I felt chilled to the bone.

"Oh good, someone's home. Let's see if that person is more willing to cooperate than _you_ are."

_Oh shit!_ Who would be here at this hour? Could it be Damon coming home to check on me? He was probably worried if he tried to call but couldn't get through. What if it was Care? Or Stefan?

I ran and pressed my ear to the door to hear if there were any voices to provide a clue to the identity of the person, but I could only hear Mason's heavy footsteps making their way down the hallway and then fading downstairs. Biting my lower lip in hesitation, I listened hard for more sounds, but after some time, there was only silence.

Well, I was armed and dangerous only to the ceiling, if my previous experience at the shooting range was anything to go by. Mason didn't know _that_, though. So, with a low command at Pig to stay in the room, I pulled the chair away from the door and cautiously opened it a crack, keeping my eyes and ears peeled for movements.

Everything was quiet in the house, but I held the gun in front of me, releasing the safety as I stealthily worked my way down the hall and then paused at the top of the stairs. After a while, I tip-toed down with my back against the wall, my eyes darting everywhere at once. Upon reaching the foyer, I walked silently towards the front door, finding it closed. I was just about to reach out to turn the knob when a voice came from behind me.

"Don't bother. Nobody else is here except for me and you."

I whirled around in shock to see him standing a few feet away, his eyes shifting to the weapon in my shaky hands.

"But y-you said that there was s-someone else here," I stammered, fear growing in my chest that someone else could be hurt in the house.

"Well, I lied!" he yelled out, his face contorted in anger. "That's who you think I am anyway, right? I lie, I bully, I beat you up, I rape, I _kill_! I'm just a monster to you, right?"

I didn't answer right away. I simply stood there, seeing him in his entirety. Before, in the kitchen, he just came across as someone who would do anything to get off scot-free from the crimes he was charged with, but _now_, he seemed different again. Different in a sense that there was something off with his demeanor, more so than before, like he was angry at himself, too.

"What _happened_ to you, Mase? You didn't used to be this way. I mean, I was with you for two years. I couldn't be so wrong about you, could I?"

"_Wrong_?" he snorted. "What makes you think that? _This_ is who I am, Elena! I'm an angry guy! I do shitty things to people I care about, right? I pushed you around and call you names to feel better about myself, okay? I go out drinking and then come home, beat the crap out of you because I had nothing better to do! No, you're not wrong about me."

My head was already shaking in denial before he even finished his statement. "No, I refuse to believe that! Something changed, I know it. Just tell me what it was and maybe I can help you," I offered in a hopeful tone, thinking it ridiculous that I was offering to help someone while pointing a gun to his face. With that in mind, I lowered the weapon but kept a firm grip on it in case he tried anything sneaky.

"You don't get it, do you? I can't change the past any more than you can change my future. What's done is done and there's nothing I can do that can undo it," he said cryptically, sounding sad and resigned.

At this point, it didn't appear as if he was even trying to convince me to drop the case any longer. It felt more like his need to purge his inner-most thoughts, things that were perhaps the catalyst that made him change.

"What are you talking about?" I asked in a soft voice, an attempt to keep him talking. "What past? Did you do something to someone else; another woman? Mason, I'm trying my best to understand here but I can't help you if-"

"Do you remember that night at the restaurant, when we were all having dinner together?" he cut in, appearing as if he was a million miles away and reminiscing a time in _our_ past that I had no indication of. I had no idea _which_ night he was referring to, but he didn't seem to notice anyway. "Your mother told me straight to my face that she didn't like me, that she didn't think that we suited each other, remember? She thought you were too good for me, like I was beneath you. Well, I showed _her_."

The contempt in his tone was clear. I knew that he was hurt by what my Mom had told him that night but I figured that he understood. Any parent would be worried that their daughter shouldn't be involved in a serious relationship while still in school. She was just being protective, that's all. Why was this even relevant to what was happening in his life now?

"Wait, that was the night my parents-what does my mother have to do with anything?"

"It has _everything_ to do with everything that's happened since then! Can you not _see_? The guilt, the reminder, the _pressure_ of seeing you every single day. It was like there was no escape! I tried to make things right again, I did, but all it did was to keep on screwing with my head. That night was the beginning of it all!" Mason had a crazed look on his face now, his eyes wild and blood-shot as if he was holding back tears.

I tried to make sense of everything he had divulged so far, but nothing fit. It was as if he was purposely speaking in riddles, showing me pieces of a puzzle but never quite giving me the whole picture.

"Look, Mason, I think you should calm down and-"

"You wanted to know the whole truth and nothing but the truth, right? Well I'm _giving_ it to you!" It was as if he was reprimanding me for not listening now that he was willing to open up, so I clammed my lips shut and listened. "That night your parents' car lost control and ended up in a ditch, _I_ was there. _I_ was the heartless bastard who chased after them and forced them off the road. I saw the car skid, and I watched your father grab the steering wheel trying to gain control of it, but it was too late. I saw your parents _die_, Elena, and I sped away before anybody could see me."

"'No," I shook my head in disbelief, tears started to stream down my cheeks unchecked as I heard his words. _It wasn't possible_, I told myself.

He wasn't finished. "Do you understand now? Do you still want me to calm the fuck down after hearing the truth?" he questioned forcefully, as if daring me to answer.

"You weren't there! Y-you sent me home, remember? I-I remember that you drove me home," I mumbled to myself, my hands trembling violently with the gun in my loosening grip.

"I _did_ send you home, and then I drove over to intercept your parents' car on their way back. I wanted to confront your mother for what she said during dinner. I wanted her to accept our relationship, and ask her not to judge before she got to know me. I don't know what it was, but your Dad must have freaked out when he saw my car coming that fast that he sped up and swerved a few times until he lost control and then-and then they were just…..dead," he recalled with a haunted expression.

In the minutes since we've spoken, he seemed to have aged a lot, his skin stretched tautly over his face, showing the tiny lines around his eyes and mouth clearly. But I couldn't bring myself to care, because the truth was just absolutely earth-shattering. I couldn't do anything except to keep on staring at him.

"And after that," he went on in a whisper, "I spent the longest time in denial, pretending as if everything was fine. I saw how upset you were, and I did the only thing that I could think of to make things right again. I took you in, paid for college and hoped to God that I could forget that night ever happened, but it refused to leave me alone. It haunted me, day and night, until I snapped and every time I saw your face, it only served as a painful reminder of my relentless guilt. So, I got angry and I took it out on you. And then _that_ added to my guilt. It was just a vicious cycle," he finished, sounding relieved that the truth was finally out in the open.

I was numb with shock, unable to process it all in my head. His words just swirled in one enormous jumbled mess in my mind, and I could not make any sense of it all. What was he saying; that he was _directly_ responsible for the death of my parents? That if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be in this situation where I had no family, no home and no money for an education?

My body sank down in exhaustion, my hands no longer able to support the weight of the gun. They slid down, hanging uselessly by my thighs as I gave in to the despair that I felt at the painful reminder that my parents' death was for no other reason than the petty anger of one man. The man whom I had lived with and loved for two years. The man whom I had leaned on for support and understanding. The man whom I allowed to physically abuse me because I thought I had somehow deserved it, that it was my fault somehow.

I gasped when Mason lunged at me all of a sudden, his hands gripping mine firmly and held them between us, pointing the pistol at his chest.

"Go ahead, use that gun. Shoot me, and end this guilt. Go on, _shoot_ me! You know you want to, Elena. I'm guilty!" he cried out, sounding desperate to end it all right then.

I struggled against him in a failing attempt to loosen his hold. "No, I c-can't! Let go," I cried out, pleading helplessly as his fingers wrestled with mine.

"You lost your parents and your home because of me! Shoot me!"

"_Please_!" I begged, fighting to hold on to the weapon between us, trying valiantly to point it elsewhere. I used all my strength to turn the barrel to the side, finally gaining the upper hand.

It was an endless tug-of-war between us now. Neither of us knew who the winner would be, but we sure as hell didn't want to be the loser. I certainly didn't count on him being suicidal all of a sudden.

"Do it, Elena! I deserve this! Just shoot-"

The front door swung open unexpectedly, momentarily garnering my attention from the urgent situation between us. My heart leaped when I saw Damon storming in, his terrified blue eyes zeroing in on our joint hands.

And then a shot rang out, echoing in my ears.

* * *

**My twitter: cgsa_cher**

**I'm really appreciative of my good friend and beta KRISTI (tukct81). I've bribed you, promised to fly thousands of miles to see you, taken my hats off to you, asked my readers to thank you and even took photos of my naked stuffed hippo in compromising positions to send to you. I really don't know how else to thank you so I'll just send a telepathic message of my gratitude to you. GOT IT?**

**To all my readers, guess who got shot? MUAHAHAHAHA! I'm expecting some yelling and a few choice words, so bring it on. I've got my thick skin firmly on. BRRRRRRRING IT!**

**If you're wondering about how Mason got out of police custody, that will be explained in the next chapter from Damon's POV. We'll get an update on little Anna, too! Hang tight! **


	24. Chapter 24

**Author's Note: Sorry for the vomit-y mess. I swear I have split personality disorder. I'm not normally such a disgusting person, like 30% of the time. I'm actually quite capable of carrying on a deep conversation about things that matter…stuff like the time I took a tumble down the stairs and the next thing I know, my big toe nail had been pulled right off the nail bed and the bloody flesh under it was exposed and throbbing.**

***pause***

**No, you can't unread that story. Bet you all preferred being vomited on, huh? **

**Well, to each his own, I guess.**

* * *

**A Woman's Worth: Chapter TWENTY FOUR **

_Damon's POV_

"Thanks for coming with me," I said to the sandy-haired man walking beside me. "It's not every day that I carry around fifty thousand dollars in cash, you know?"

My voice was hushed as I cast a furtive look around self-consciously, tightening my hold on the inconspicuous brown bag that contained the price of Anna's freedom.

"Yeah, no shit," Ric exclaimed, his rapt attention on our surroundings like a trained Secret Service agent. "You're taking a huge risk by using your own money, man. This better go according to plan or you're losing a huge chunk of change here."

I nodded along, thinking back to our spur-of-the-moment strategizing while waiting for the money. It was actually rather comical, the way the bank manager's face paled and eyes bulged in shock at my demand to withdraw a large amount of cash from my account. After some insistence, we left him to crack his head to come up with the money as soon as possible while Ric and I brainstormed an acceptable plan in dealing with Alan.

We both agreed that it would be wise to involve Elijah in our last-minute plan, despite knowing the risks involved. At this moment, none of us really knew Anna's whereabouts, not to mention her mortality status. For all we knew, we may have already been too late.

After several attempts, though, we weren't able to get hold of Elijah, which probably meant that he was either in the middle of a court in session or he had finally passed out from the lack of sleep and the accumulated stress.

Either way, Ric and I were left to our own devices, which didn't bode well at all for little Anna.

"Other than Elijah, I don't trust anybody else who will put Anna's safety first," I answered after a lengthy pause. I didn't like the way things were going any more than he did, but what choice did we have?

Ric shot me a sideways glance and I instinctively knew that I wasn't going to like hearing what he was about to say next. "Maybe we should call Officer Bennett," he suggested, referring to the police officer who had been working with Elijah on Anna's case, the one I was yelling at when Elena went missing at the hospital.

"That slow-blinking incompetent fool who couldn't even pass on my simple message to Elena? _That_ officer?" I said in a disgruntled tone as I remembered the panic I had felt when I couldn't find her anywhere at the hospital. Even though I knew that it was Elena's own decision to pull her disappearing act, I still blamed that officer for some reason. _That_ and I didn't like the way he blinked.

"Oh my God, Damon, can you be _more_ petty? You're seriously willing to risk Anna's safety based on a couple of clueless social workers armed only with a bag-load of cash, an iPad and cell phones?!" he hissed under his breath, ever mindful of any eavesdroppers around us as we approached our own cars.

The guy had a point.

Heaving an exasperated sigh, I raked my mind to come up with a better alternative than our amateur detective skills. "Alright, fine. Call Officer Blinky and fill him in, especially the no cops part. Also, please ask him to get Elijah to call me back," I told him as I got into my car, receiving a nod from Ric before he jogged over to his own vehicle.

My thoughts turned to Elena as soon as I was alone, wondering if she was awake and missing me like how I was missing her. Seriously, if it hadn't been for Pearl and Anna, there was nothing in this world that could drag me out of her bed even if the sky was crumbling down on us. Despite the drama of the day, I found myself smiling when I thought about her innocent-looking face, lying next to me. Making her happy was my number one priority right now, and there was nothing I wanted more than to deliver Anna safely and securely to surprise her if things turned out exactly like I hoped it would.

I pulled up to the curb right in front of Pearl's hotel with Ric just a few seconds behind me, parking his own car before we made our way into the building. Noticing the frown on his normally relaxed face, I was quick to question the man who seemed to be in deep thought as we entered an empty elevator.

"I'm sure it's nothing but I'm just thinking about something Officer Blin-Officer _Bennett_ said when I was on the phone with him just now," he said slowly, sounding concerned. "Apparently, Elijah's having a scream-fest with the Chief behind closed doors and the entire station is in an uproar because they've never seen him that upset before."

My own eyes narrowed suspiciously at the news, finding it curious myself. "Elijah? Screaming? At his _boss_? Yeah, I'd say something's up and we should be worried."

"Mmhmm," Ric agreed with a thoughtful expression. "Maybe that's why he wasn't answering his phone earlier."

By then, we had already arrived in front of Pearl's room, knocking rapidly on her door before it was hastily pulled wide open by the harassed–looking woman. She was holding her phone up to her ear, gesturing wildly and pointing to it with her other hand as I started to pay attention to her ongoing conversation.

"….call the police when you told me not to! Do you really think I'd risk Anna's life by going against your instructions?" she squeaked into the phone as she paced around the room. "Alan, I don't have _that_ kind of cash on me! How do you expect me to come up with fifty grand at the drop of a hat without involving someone – _any_one - for help?" There was a pause, and then, "_Of course_ they didn't involve the police! I told them _not_ to. They're just helping me with the money that you asked for," she finished, her eyes wide with panic as she flashed a pleading look at me.

Calmly, I reached out my hand for the phone in her tight grip, indicating that I wanted to talk to him. Instantly, she stuttered into the mouthpiece for him to hold, and then pressed the mute button on her phone. "He called just seconds before you two came in here! He started freaking out that you might have called the cops," she whispered urgently, her hand covering over the mouthpiece unnecessarily.

"He's got eyes on this place," I hissed to Ric, who apparently came to the same conclusion, seeing as he had quickly closed the drapes in front of the windows. "I think he saw us coming in, recognized us and panicked. That means he's nearby, possibly even in the same building as us. He might have been watching you for a while now, Pearl."

At her sudden intake of breath, I snatched her phone out of her fingers and jabbed my finger on the screen, reversing the mute function. "This is Damon Salvatore speaking. Look, I _didn't_ call the police," I began, not exactly lying because it had been _Ric_ who made the call. "Pearl told me what your demands are and I'm just here to help a friend out. I'm sure you remember very well that I care about your daughter way too much to take any risks, so you can be rest assured that _all_ I want is to get her back safely when you get your money."

While I was talking, I saw Ric hurrying into the bathroom with his phone to his ear, no doubt warning Officer Blinky about the latest development. I had to buy some time, or all our planning could go out the window the instant Alan starts to get suspicious if a squad car arrived in front of the building.

"Fine, but now I want a hundred grand instead because nobody else was supposed to be involved in this. Since my ex-wife dragged you guys into this, then I want more money for my _inconvenience_," the gruff voice on the other line said.

Perfect! Nothing like greed for a man like him to start making mistakes.

"You've got to be kidding me," I pretended to object just for the hell of it. I had a plan up my sleeves and I intended to make sure that he remained none the wiser. "You can't just ask for more money all of a sudden. You made a deal with Pearl; fifty grand in exchange for Anna. There's no way I can raise that much money in such a short time, let alone today!"

"Well it's not like I'm giving you a choice in the matter, am I? A hundred grand in half an hour if you want to see Anna again. Take it or leave it."

Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Ric returning from the bathroom, his inquisitive eyes trained on me as I carried on with my revised plan.

"How do we know if she's even alive? She could already be dead or taken to Mexico by now. Of course, it would be stupid of you to make a run for it with a child slowing you down and attracting unwanted attention, but how do we know that you're going to keep your word after we give you the money?" I threw in as a challenge, playing right into his fear of getting caught. "I want to have some kind of proof that you have Anna alive and well _before_ I hand over the money to you."

An anxious Pearl started nodding her head enthusiastically at my mention of Anna, moving to stand next to me in her eagerness to find out about her daughter. My phone chose that moment to start ringing in my pocket, so I hastily turned the sound off before it roused any alarm. Glancing at the screen, I saw that it was Elijah, returning my calls. I waved at Ric to get his attention, but it was at _that_ point that a soft knock sounded against the door, so he had gotten up to answer it. Torn between wanting to get the latest news from Elijah, and negotiating for the safe return of my charge, I had to reluctantly ignore the buzzing in my hand and focus on the man on the other end of the line with me.

"My daughter is not with me right now. I left her in a safe place not far from where we are, actually. But you can be sure that I haven't harmed her and I'll give her back to her mother as soon as I get the money. All I want is my freedom and some cash to make myself scarce. The last thing I need is for a little tag-along kid who cries all the time, whining for her doll," he explained in a clipped tone.

My spirits lifted at the mention of little Anna, asking for her favorite toy that I gave her. It meant that she was still talking and hadn't reverted back to her previous traumatized state. The fact that she was talking was a sign that her condition had not worsened, and it was the first good news we've had of her in days.

Of course, _that_ may change at any given moment. Still, the fact that Alan had mentioned 'we' just now in regards to his current location proved what I had suspected all along. He was somewhere around the hotel which meant that my next part of the plan could very well work. All I had to do now was to reel him in.

In the duration of Alan's explanation, Ric had opened the room door to admit a staff from the hotel, garbed head-to-toe in the hotel's uniform and pushing a cart full of room service orders in. As soon as the door closed behind him, the man had removed his hat and matching jacket, revealing that it was Officer Blinky, sneaking in incognito. I have to say that I was impressed, albeit reluctantly.

Ric pressed a finger to his lips and pointed to me, so I pushed the speaker button so that everyone in the room could now listen in on our conversation. "Look, Alan…you're asking for a lot of money here, _double_ the initial amount that you told Pearl. I'll need to make another run to the bank and it's going to take some time to come up with the cash at the last minute. Give me another hour, at least, and you'll have your money then, but we'll need to do the exchange simultaneously; cash for Anna, in public."

I saw the surprise on Ric and the officer's faces at my words, but I shook my head at them firmly. I pointed at Ric's iPhone and mouthed the words 'GPS', prompting him to quickly work on his part of our plan.

"In fact, I'll tell you what," I went on, baiting my hook and waiting for him to bite, being the greedy moron he was. "I'll give you twenty five grand right now as a sign of good faith. Then you'll go back to wherever you kept Anna, call Pearl again and let us talk to her so that we know she's safe before you bring her back here in time to get the rest of the money. This way, I'll know that you'll keep your end of the bargain. No police involved, and you'll have enough money to disappear for a long time."

I could see Officer Blinky gesturing madly at me, but I ignored him, choosing to pay attention to Ric's raised eyebrow. At times like these, I was grateful to have my best friend with me, knowing that we had the same wavelength. At the very least, he was waiting for me to get off the phone before yelling at me for changing the game plan.

"Alright, so how do we do this?"

Hell-to-the-fuck-yeah.

I scanned the room for ideas, and then the room service cart attracted my attention. "Okay, I'll put the money into a….black suitcase and send a room service waiter out with a cart to the back entrance of the hotel in fifteen minutes. You can go pick it up as soon as he leaves. Then Pearl will be waiting for your call to speak to Anna, after which we'll do the exchange in person in an hour's time at the same place."

The black suitcase was a stroke of inspiration at the last second, but I thought that it provided more hidden compartments than the regular brown paper bag I had arrived with. At this rate, I was almost shivering with anticipation of wrapping my hands around his neck very soon.

"No, _I'll_ pick the location for the exchange. I'll tell you where later," he countered, sounding nervous for the first time since I had been calling the shots so far in the conversation. It didn't matter _where_ it would take place, because I wasn't going to let it get that far anyway.

"Fine," I sighed dramatically, as if I was resigned to cater to his every whim. "We'll be waiting for your call."

As soon as the call disconnected, Ric and the officer were all up in my face in seconds. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" the officer demanded. "You're actually negotiating with a wanted criminal in exchange for the girl? Once he has his hands on the money, what makes you think that he's going to come back with her at all? He could have taken the cash and run with her, or dump her somewhere along the way!"

"Yeah, Damon, what's with the new plan? I thought we'll give him the money, and then that's it? We're supposed to use the phone thing to track him down, right?" Ric spoke up.

"Yes, well about that, he's asking for more money now, and _before_, we didn't even know if Anna's still with him or not. I'm sorry, Pearl, but it's a very real possibility," I flashed an apologetic look over at the very distraught mother who flinched at my words. "I have more hope than ever but I also have to be realistic. There was nothing stopping him from skipping town immediately after we gave him the fifty grand, anyway. Now, he has more reason to go _back_ to where he's kept her, confirm to us that she's fine, and keep her safe to come back for _more_ money. Why settle for twenty five when he can get the full hundred Gs, right? Only now, when he goes back for her…"

"…we'll be tracking him with the GPS! And, if _that_ fails, at least we'll have another chance to get him when he shows up with Anna," Ric finished for me, a triumphant grin on his face while giving me a fist-pump.

Feeling more confident than I've ever felt since Anna first disappeared from the hospital, I turned to greet Officer Blinky with a broad smile, thinking that we had cracked the whole case wide open for the police, only to be met by a dazed and confused look on his face. Seriously, how hard was it to keep up with the plan?

"Mind filling me in at what was supposed to be _my_ job?" he quipped.

I shot my buddy a dark look and rolled my eyes, prompting him to launch into an explanation of our entire brilliant plan – if I may say so myself – while I set up the iPad, and returned Elijah's call at the same time.

Sometimes, I amaze myself at how efficient I am when it comes to multi-tasking.

"You know how iPhones have this 'Find My iPhone' feature, right? Well basically, we're going to activate it so that it acts like a GPS tracking device and hide it together with the money in the bag. That way, we can track his location using the iPad here and follow him back to wherever he's keeping Anna," Ric explained calmly as he started packing some of the cash I brought into one of Pearl's suitcases, making sure to turn off the sound on his phone and hiding it in one of the zippered compartments. "I know it's not as good as your fancy detective gadgets, but it was the best one we've managed to come up with given the time-frame."

Stony silence greeted him and then a random burst of enthusiastic response that seemed to shocked the rest of us in the room. "That's brilliant!" Officer Blinky replied, quickly moving into action as we watched the formerly useless cop pull out his earpiece and began to bark orders at his team, presumably stationed around the premise, unnoticed by Alan.

Meanwhile, I had been waiting for my call to Elijah to connect, and it took some time before he finally answered. "Damon, where the hell _are_ you?" he growled into my ear, catching me off guard.

"I'm at Pearl's hotel with Ric and one of your guys. I've been trying to get hold of you because we had a lead about Anna but we're handling it right-"

"I know, Bennett already filled me in," he interrupted urgently. "My phone was on my desk when you called while I was with the Chief, but never mind that now. _Please_ tell me that Elena's with you. I can't reach her."

From his tone, I could tell that something serious had gone wrong, and if my instincts were correct, it had something to do with a certain rapist. "No, she's at home," I said slowly, "asleep and safe, I assume….unless you have something you haven't told me?"

"God-dammit!" he swore loudly and then I could hear the sound of the siren on his car, wailing in the background. "Mason was released on bail this morning, but I only found out about it when I came in. I've been yelling at my boss ever since but Lockwood's _out_. I'm just leaving the station to your house, but Damon…you better get home now!"

To say that I was shocked would be an understatement. I felt as if a freight train had run over me…_twice_. "But-but _how_?! He's not _allowed_ to post bail. What the hell happened?"

"The bastard appealed and his attorneys argued that denying bail was excessive because he had no priors and his family members are prominent members of the town. The idiot judge who granted it is a golf buddy of his brother's, Richard Lockwood, who just so happens to be conveniently donating a new hospital wing in the name of charity. It's all about_ who _you know in the legal business these days!" he bit out in disgust. "Lockwood made bail earlier today but was ordered to follow certain conditions, one of which included a restraining order against any and all witnesses."

"Restraining order, my ass!" I roared, startling Ric and Pearl. Everything became crystal clear to me in a matter of seconds. The sudden ransom demand after a whole week of silence, the timing, the fact that Lockwood had visited Alan that one time in prison and finally, the appeal for bail; it all fell into perspective for me when viewed in its entirety.

Anna was simply a distraction.

"I'll start heading home now. You'll probably catch up to me on your way over," I told him and then proceeded to hang up on him.

I whirled around, getting ready to utter a string of apologies to Pearl for taking off at such a crucial moment, but I was stunned when she immediately hugged me close, giving me a reassuring pat on my back. "Don't worry about Anna, Damon. You go take care of _your_ girl and I'll take care of mine. I really need to thank you for all your help. I don't know what I'd do if it wasn't for you."

She gave me a wobbly smile which I returned half-heartedly, my mind occupied with nothing but my brunette who seemed to be in perpetual danger. I murmured a thank you as I rubbed her arms comfortingly and then passed the iPad back to Ric who was watching me silently.

"I can go with you, Damon," he offered. "Officer Bennett can handle things from here anyway. Let me help you."

I shook my head, moving quickly towards the door. "No, I don't trust anyone else with Anna, Ric. I really need you to be _here_, accompanying Pearl and making sure that things go accordingly, okay? Otherwise, I can't concentrate on Elena if I'm constantly worried about the situation over here. Just let me know when you've got her back safely, okay?"

"Yeah, I will. Good luck, man."

With a heavy heart, I left the hotel room, mentally cursing God, the universe, Lockwood, Alan and the legal system in general for the injustice against innocents like my girls. If the world is filled with so many evil wrongdoers, then Hell must be pretty empty. That or Mystic Falls has literally become Hell on Earth, judging by the number of monsters that reside in it.

I decided to try my luck and dialed Elena's number, cursing when it went straight to voice mail. As I got into my car, I tried twice more, both to no avail. Then, I called my brother's phone, hoping that he was at home and able to check up on her.

"Yellow," he greeted cheerily when the call connected, my spirits lifting a little at the thought that I was probably overreacting yet again.

"Orange ya at home?" I replied back automatically, reminding me of the childhood game we used to play when we were kids.

"Nope, I drove Care Bear to school today but I'm heading back now. What's up?"

And just like that, my heart sank to the deepest recess of my chest and I was left struggling to breathe properly, flooring the accelerator as I sped the rest of the way home. "Lockwood's out."

Two little words. So much fear. No explanations needed.

"Fuck."

* * *

My feet hit the gravel of my driveway as soon as my car screeched to a stop, not even bothering to shut off the engine as I ran the rest of the way to my front door. Just before I flung the door wide open, I heard a male voice screaming from within, confirming my suspicions. I burst in, took two steps and froze, my heart clenched in terror as I took in the sight in front of me.

My worst nightmare had come true.

There was Elena, struggling against the very man who had caused so much hurt, so much pain to her, and they seemed to be engaged in a battle of sorts. My eyes immediately zoomed in on their tangled hands between them, noticing that they appeared to be fighting over something.

For a split second, everything seemed to stop when she turned her attention to mine, her shoulders sagging with relief at my presence. Then the next few seconds happened in slow motion, as if one was playing a scratched CD where a scene would move frame by frame in an agonizingly slow speed on a screen. It was like watching a train wreck happening right in front of my very eyes.

A shot rang out, the unexpected sound reverberating throughout the stillness of the house.

All three of us froze, our expressions in varying degrees of shock. I experienced fear and terror in equal measures at that point, unable to fully comprehend the scene before me. I watched a wide-eyed Elena stagger backwards, a weapon dropping to the floor with a loud thud.

Her entire front was covered in blood splatters.

"Elena!" I called out, frightened to the point of pure terror now.

It was at that moment that I spurred into action, my blood running cold at that nagging feeling at the back of my head that told me I was going to lose her. Stifling my rising panic, I reached out for her shaking hands, grabbing her elbows to spin her around to face me as I kicked the weapon away with my foot, making sure that it was nowhere near Lockwood.

"Oh my God, where are you hurt?" I managed to choke out through my tightening throat, my hands frantically feeling around her blood-stained shirt in search for the gunshot wound. When she didn't respond, I looked up at her ashen face, but her gaze was locked on a spot next to me. I cupped her face gently, forcing her to meet my eyes. "Elena, talk to me, dammit! You're bleeding and I can't find th-"

"It's not mine," she whispered all of a sudden, her attention reverting back to the silent man a few steps away.

I followed her gaze, and sure enough, I watched Lockwood looking down at the blood spreading on the front of his shirt in disbelief, and then he crumpled to the floor, clutching at his stomach as he grunted in pain.

I almost wept with relief.

"She _really_ shot me," he gasped out, holding his bloodied fingers in front of his incredulous eyes.

I heard heavy footsteps from the entrance doorway, and then Stefan's voice as he came running. "Woah there, wh-what's happening, Damon? Why is there blood?"

I ignored him for now, because I was still preoccupied with the feeling of intense joy that Elena was unhurt. I clasped her cheeks and pulled her attention back to me, seeing the approaching panic on her face now that the shock was wearing off.

"Hey, hey, listen to me," I said in the calmest voice I could muster. "Did he hurt you?

She stared back at me blankly as if I was speaking a foreign language, but then she blinked before her hands reached down to pat herself all over. "I-I don't think so…n-no. He had a knife-and oh God, Pig!" she exclaimed as her palm covered over her mouth in fear. "He was coming at me, threatening Pig and-and Anna so that I'll drop the case, and then he was choking me! I-I couldn't breathe but then I remembered what you taught me and I got away. I ran upstairs with Pig and I grabbed the g-gun, and then Mason-he said that someone was home and I was so scared! I thought that maybe either of _you_ had come home and I wanted to warn you, so I-I came down and then he started telling me about my parents and asking me to shoot him, but I didn't! I _swear_ I didn't!"

I nodded along encouragingly as she rambled on, all the while keeping part of my attention on my brother who had retrieved a few hand towels from the kitchen and was now bent over the writhing criminal on the floor with one hand pressed against the gushing wound while the other was holding a cell phone to his ear, requesting for medical help. A part of me resented the fact that Lockwood wasn't yet dead, but the _rational_ side of me thought that it was better keeping him alive.

Sometimes, I just _hated_ my rational side.

"I know, I know you didn't, babe," I muttered to Elena, pulling her against me so that her head was resting on my chest. God, for a moment there, I really thought that I was walking into the living nightmare scene that had been my mother's death all over again. Nine and a half years ago, I lost my mother in this very same house at _almost_ the same spot, and today, I really thought that I was reliving the whole thing again, except with the woman I love more than life itself.

If _she_ had been the one who got shot…..

Shaking my head to clear all the negative and depressing thoughts, I just mentally thanked the Lord that I didn't need to finish the end of that sentence. Elena was safe, and that was all that mattered.

"Damon," came her anguished whisper. I pulled back to find her eyes welling up with tears, her lower lip quivering as she struggled to regain control of her emotions. "My parents' car_….he_ was the one who caused the crash that night. If it wasn't for him, I'd still have my parents, my home, and I wouldn't have had to move in with him. A-and he had something to do with Anna, too!"

The tears that were brimming now cascaded down her cheeks, and I quickly brushed them away with my thumbs, caressing her wet and soft skin lovingly as I gazed down at her with sympathy. I couldn't even fathom what she was going through then, knowing that the man she once loved had practically caused her entire world to crash down around her. I remembered very well what I felt the day my mother died at the hands of my father; but at least I didn't have to live with the man after.

"An ambulance is on its way here, and so is Elijah, ETA five to seven minutes," Stefan suddenly piped in, obviously listening in on us while he was busy playing nurse.

"You hear that, Elena? Help is on the way, so I need you to go upstairs with Stef now," I told her quietly while my brother glanced up at me with a puzzled expression on his face. "He'll help you get cleaned up and get the bloodstains out."

"What? What about _you_?" she asked, her anxious eyes darting between us.

"I'm going to stay here until the ambulance arrives. I'll take care of him," I gestured at the bleeding man, my jaws automatically clenching at the thought of helping someone like him. Sure, my entire career is based on helping people - victims, in particular - but nobody said I had to be perfect.

Stefan then stood up, his brows furrowing at my choice of words in regards to Mister-Not-Even-That-Badly-Wounded. "_I'll_ stay, Damon. My hands are already covered in his blood anyway," he insisted, holding his palms out as proof.

I knew that my brother was concerned, but it was time I had a conversation with Lockwood. "No. I got here to the scene first and it was _my_ gun he was shot with. I have to explain everything to Elijah when he gets here. Now _please_, Stef. Take Elena upstairs and _stay_ with her. I really don't want her to be alone right now, not after…."

I didn't need to finish my sentence for him to know what I was thinking. This house had been her safe haven, the _only_ place she could stay without having to worry about her safety or being threatened. And then Lockwood somehow managed to break in and ruin her comfort zone, bringing violence and mayhem into the peace she'd once enjoyed. If she suddenly had an emotional breakdown alone upstairs, there was no telling what she might do to herself; she could even convince herself that she was a murderess on top of everything else.

"Damon, what are you going to do?"

My features softened as I returned my gaze to her troubled ones, and I smiled softly in an effort to comfort her. "I'll behave myself, don't worry. I just have to tie up some loose ends, that's all. I'll be fine, okay?" With that, I tucked her hair behind her ears and leaned in to brush my lips against hers, only fleetingly because there were more urgent things to attend to. I stroked her cheek with the back of my fingers one more time before I led her over to Stefan who dutifully wrapped an arm around her slim shoulders, guiding her over to the stairs while flashing a final warning look at me.

I watched them go, still motionless on the exact same spot until I could no longer see their retreating backs. A low moan a few feet away pulled my attention, but I made my way slowly and calmly to the spot I had kicked the gun, lowering myself on my hunches to pick it up. Making my way back to the horizontal figure on the floor, I crouched low over him, finding satisfaction when his eyes widened in fear at the sight of the weapon in my hand.

"Please," he choked out, gasping. "You don't have to do this."

I stared down at him wordlessly, taking in his appearance fully for the first time since I entered the house. His nose seemed to be broken and there was blood _everywhere_, staining my carpet. I would have killed him just for that alone.

"No, I don't _have_ to do anything, but you come into _my_ house, threatened _my_ family, worked with another criminal to kidnap a little girl, and you expect me to just what…be a good Samaritan and hold your hand while you bleed all over my carpets?" I asked in a chilling tone, seeing his adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed nervously. "No, I protect what's mine and I actually think I'd be doing the world a favor if I just finished the job and end you, right here, right now."

Fear. Uncertainty. Panic.

His features displayed all three emotions clearly as he remained helpless beside me. Hoping to taunt him further, I decided to prolong his agony, seeing as he had _no_ idea what I had in mind for him. "What's with the nose job?"

"E-Elena…"

"_She_ did that, huh?" I asked, my face breaking into a wry smile at the thought of my warrior princess being all badass. Damn if I wasn't proud. "That's my girl! I taught her that, you know?"

"She broke my nose!" he complained. "And I'm bleeding and it hurts like hell. I need help…please."

"Wow, so we've resorted to pleading, haven't we? Didn't I walk in on you screaming for Elena to go ahead and shoot you, or was that simply a ploy to get her to cave to your demands? Probably spoilt your plans when I burst in here and caught you off guard, right? Bet you didn't expect the gun to accidentally go off when it did, did ya?"

Despite my earlier words of 'ending' him, my ingrained first aid training kicked in, and I obligingly pressed a towel directly on his wound and applied more pressure than required on it. I hated every moment I was that close to the monster but somehow, saving his life seemed like the right thing to do.

Didn't mean I had to like it.

"It didn't just 'go off'. _She_ pointed the thing at me and _I'm_ the one with a hole in my gut! If I'm going down for rape, then _she's_ going down for attempted murder," he grumbled defensively, apparently still hadn't yet learnt his lesson that he was in the mercy of an armed and angry guy.

_That did it_!

"Now you listen to me and you listen carefully," I growled in a low voice as I grabbed him up by his collar, my gun-wielding hand pressing the gun to his temple before making its way down slowly. "If you say or do _anything_ to hurt Elena again, I'll make sure that it's not your _gut_ that's gonna have a hole in it," I threatened, holding the muzzle painfully right against his crotch, "but your _dick_, you sad, pathetic excuse for a man! Do I need to remind you that you've not only caused Elena to lose her family in a single day, but also her home and then abused and raped her after everything she's been through? Are you really that much of a cold-blooded _monster_ that not only have you robbed her of her life but now you're planning on taking her entire future along with you?"

To my disbelieving eyes, I saw a flicker of doubt and tiny sign of guilt in his eyes, prompting me to press on with my effort to penetrate through his thick skull.

"No matter what you say, you're heading towards a life within a six by six prison cell where there are no windows. You sealed your own fate the moment you stepped foot inside this house and brought a weapon against a witness in an attempt to threaten her. You're already in direct violation of the restraining order imposed just this morning. When the cops get here, you'll tell them that the gun went off accidentally in a struggle. You will not utter Elena's name and a gun in the same sentence or I'll make _this_ seem like a cake walk compared to life behind bars with all those other _violent_ criminals. Let's just say that I know plenty of people on the 'inside' who don't take too kindly to rapists and physical abusers, so you better get your story right or….."

I let the end of that sentence hang, deliberately allowing his mind to conjure up painful images of torture or getting rear-ended by some inmates. I figured that it was illegal for me to kill him, so I'd just let his own mind do the trick.

"Damon! What the hell are you doing?"

At the sound of Elijah's voice, I reluctantly straightened up, picking up a clean towel with one hand and putting my forefinger through the trigger guide of my gun as I raised my hands up in the air. He was flanked by two police officers who were watching me warily followed by a team of EMTs who immediately rushed over to attend to the victim beside me. Belatedly, I realized that I should have heard the sound of the sirens approaching but I supposed that I was too caught up in making threats.

"Nothing, just doing my part as the neighborhood watcher. Caught a burglar," I said sarcastically as I cocked my head at Lockwood. I walked over to the detective and placed the weapon, now wrapped in the towel, in his hand. "Here, the safety's on. Now _please_ get this fucker out of my house and off my property before he ruins my pretty carpets even further."

I saw the tensed expression on Elijah's face as he struggled to make sense of the scene he walked in on. "Where's Elena?"

"Upstairs," I told him distractedly as my attention focused mainly on the medical team now lifting Lockwood onto a stretcher before rushing out to the ambulance. "Any news from Ric yet?"

"Yeah, my boys just picked up Alan and Anna's with Pearl right now. She's unharmed," he quickly added before I could ask. My shoulders sagged with relief at the news, glad that something went right for the first time today.

"That's good, that's _really_ good news. Now if only criminals actually _stayed_ in prison, that'll be a pleasant change, don't you think?"

"Look, Damon," he sighed, approaching me when I still couldn't seem to concentrate. "Hey, this is serious! I've got a gunshot victim and an alleged suspect hiding upstairs. I need to talk to Elena and get her statement."

Well, he had my full attention _now_.

"What do you mean by a suspect? You don't think that she shot him on purpose, did you?"

He pursed his lips but remained quiet, but his silence spoke volumes about his thought process. I couldn't count on Lockwood to keep Elena out of this mess, so I took matters into my own hands. "It was me," I blurted out of the blue, surprising everyone including myself. All I knew was that she had to be protected and the only way I could do that was by owning up to everything. "_I _shot the bastard. He had a knife and he lunged at me, so I shot him. Elena had nothing to do with it. She wasn't even anywhere near us when it happened."

For some reason, my false admission seemed to have angered Elijah, judging by his deep scowl. "What the hell are you playing at? Stefan called me and told me-"

"My brother doesn't know squat! He got here after everything was over, just in time to see Lockwood already on the floor with a bullet hole the size of _dinner plates_ in his stomach," I yelled in exasperation. "It's _my_ gun and I had a strong motive for wanting him dead. I'm also an excellent shot. Investigation's over, boys - case closed. I'm turning myself in."

I walked over calmly to the officers, holding my wrists together in preparation for the handcuffs, but Elijah quickly shook his head and held up his hand to stop them. "You just might be the craziest guy alive, you know that? I hope you know what you're doing," he muttered in my ear as he grasped my arm and led me out the door after instructing the two officers to remain behind to case the place for evidence.

I had to agree with him. The things I'd do for this one particular girl.

"Find the damned knife, would ya?" I called out over my shoulder. "And for God's sake, don't break anything!"

* * *

I sat on an old two-seater PVC couch in Elijah's office, fidgeting uncomfortably as the material made farting noises every time I moved.

"That was the chair, not me. That has been going on _all_ day," I hurriedly explained to the three silent men standing before me, their scowls and glares focused solely on my slightly sheepish face. Clearing my throat, I squirmed in my seat once more, setting off another bout of suspicious sounds. "Seriously, Elijah, you should get this chair replaced or people will start to talk about your flatulence problem."

I gave a nervous chuckle and then sobered quickly at the cold reception of my ill-timed joke. I pursed my lips and waited for someone to say something but their continued silence and chilly demeanor only made me even more uneasy.

"Not _me_, though. I'm a strictly SBD kind of guy, you know, silent-but-deadly, but you guys knew that already, right?" I continued to ramble when the atmosphere of the room got too tensed again. "Just be thankful that we are not one of those sea creatures known as crinoids, where their anus is located right next to their mouths. I mean, that's gotta suck, right?"

Nothing. Nada. Zilch.

Finally, I couldn't take it anymore. "Alright, guys. Tell me, how much trouble am I in right now?"

"Huge."

"Massive."

"Potentially catastrophic."

This time, their swift replies didn't comfort me at all, though I was grateful that I no longer had to talk about gas exiting from the anus to fill in the awkward silence. "On a scale of one to ten, how angry is she?"

"Oh, I'd say about a thousand," Stefan leaned in to peer at the other two clowns who flanked him on both sides as they shrugged and then nodded in agreement.

"Give or take five, maybe," Ric chimed in, not at all helpful.

I sighed deeply, sinking back into the lumpy seat as I pinched the bridge of my nose. "So I've got some major sucking-up to do, huh?"

A snort erupted from my brother, as if I've just said the understatement of the century. "Ohhhh, I'd say so. Honestly, I've never heard a lady swear so much and so loudly before. Remind me not to piss her off."

"And she's not your _only_ worry right now," Elijah said, glaring down at me, his arms crossed over his chest. "As usual, we _all_ have to clean up after your mess whenever you come up with some hair-brained plan, no matter how ridiculous it may be, like this whole admission-of-guilt-for-shooting- Lockwood thing! Do you have _any_ idea how much paper work I have to do now just because you decided to be a hero and make a false admission?"

"I'm-I'm sorry," I apologized with a hopeful expression, feeling silly now for the trouble I caused. I should probably use my brain more often _before_ making hasty decisions, like lying to the police. "How the hell was I supposed to know that Lockwood's gonna grow a conscience and start telling the truth all of a sudden? He was threatening to frame Elena for shooting him right before you got there!"

Moments ago, I was as surprised as the rest of my friends when Lockwood finally made his statement to an officer in the hospital where he was now recuperating from a surgery after the events from this morning. According to him, he only showed up at the mansion to "personally apologize to his ex and make amends".

Yeah, right!

Nothing says "I'm sorry" better than attempting to choke a person and threaten her lovingly with a knife. Well, at least he had the decency to exonerate Elena by admitting that the gun going off had been a freak accident that neither of them had intended. Perhaps he should get shot more often.

"Maybe you threatening to blast a few inches off his dick managed to convince him? You'd be amazed what a man would do to protect his prized penis," Elijah quipped, referring to the part where while I had my gun pointed at Lockwood's groin just as he burst in. I had to admit, though; I felt like a badass doing it. "Anyway, Elena confirmed that part of the story when I spoke to her earlier, so with her whole account of what went on at the house and his fingerprints on the knife that we found in the kitchen, the case is quite self-explanatory."

I groaned out loud in objection because the whole point of my stupid but heroic admission was to keep Elena out of it, but the stubborn girl just refused to cooperate. "I didn't want her to be involved in the first place. Elijah, I thought I told you to leave her alone."

"Hey, if it was up to me, I would have thrown you in jail for obstruction of justice by lying to the police, but that woman of yours stormed downstairs when my guys were collecting evidence at your house, so they had to take her statement. She was pretty adamant about it, too," the detective said thoughtfully.

"Yeah, it was actually kinda funny," Stefan chuckled. "One of the officers actually recoiled in fear when she found out that you have taken the blame for the gunshot and let me just say that for her size, she's got quite a set of lungs."

I smiled fondly as I imagined my little firecracker, yelling at unsuspecting guys, probably pinning them down with her wide-eyed glare. Spending the last twelve hours away from her proved to be challenging, especially when I was technically 'in custody', except that I was bored out of my mind sitting in Elijah's office at the station while he popped in and out, busy with the aftermath of my confession.

All I wanted to do was to go home, wrap my arms around Elena, tie us together, grab a quick shower and fall into bed. In that order. "Where _is_ she, anyway?"

"Well, before she kicked me and Stefan out under strict orders to retrieve you - even if we had to stage a prison break and make a run for it," Ric laughed nervously as he slid his eyes sideways at Elijah's grim expression, "she was spending some time with Pearl and Anna at the hospital. That little girl is _so_ attached to her."

_Hospital_? _They were in the hospital?!_ "Do you mean to tell me that Elena and Lockwood were in the _same_ building at the _same_ time today?" I managed to sputter out through clenched jaws at the thought of it. Jeez, how hard was it to keep the girl away from the bad man who wanted to hurt her?

"Oh, come on! He was unconscious and in surgery and she was _way_ over in the other wing in the pediatrics department. We made sure that they never even crossed paths, okay?" he rolled his eyes at me like I was being a particularly difficult child. "You're being such a big baby about Elena, you know that, right? No _wonder_ she chose to go to bed rather than to bring you home herself!"

Oh. That explained it. She was mad at me for the stunt I pulled earlier and that was why she sent the boys to deal with me. I couldn't help the crestfallen look on my face and the disappointment I felt at her continued absence.

"I can't do it!" lamented Stefan, throwing his hands up in the air as his lower lip quivered, struggling to hold back his laughter. "I mean, _look_ at his face! He reminds me of Pig with that pouty lips and droopy eyes. I tried and I'm sorry but-"

I looked up in surprise when he broke off midsentence and strode to the door, pulling it wide open to reveal…

"Elena?" I whispered in disbelief as I slowly got to my feet.

There she stood, with her gorgeous brown eyes glowering at me. I didn't expect to see her standing at the entrance to Elijah's office, but what I really didn't see coming was what happened next.

She came straight at me, stopping just a foot away and then with our eyes fiercely locked on each other, she lifted up one of her booted leg and kicked my shin. Hard.

"Owwwww!"

My loud protest was probably heard by the rest of the station, causing several of the staff to sneak a peek through the doorway to snicker at my agony.

Her brow arched and then her lips formed just a single word. "Why?"

Such a loaded question, and so many possible answers that might satisfy her, but I opted for the simple truth. "Because you're worth it."

In the silence that ensued, tears had gathered in her eyes, turning them into murky depths that I lost myself in. And then she had launched herself, her lips meeting mine in a frenzied attack. There was a collective "Awww" in the room, but my focus was mainly on the woman in my arms and kissing her back with all the love I had for her.

An eternity later, the pressure of her lips eased on mine, and then we were breathing each other in heavily, my eyes still closed.

"Elijah?" I heard her mumble. "Who do I have to yell at in order to bring my boyfriend home right now?"

_Boyfriend_. She had never used that word in front of me before. I felt all precious.

"Nobody," came the quick reply, sounding slightly scared despite the sweetness of her voice. "We have Mason's statement and the Chief is willing to overlook Damon's temporary insanity because of his assistance on Anna's case, so he's free to go."

"Good."

With that said, her fingers intertwined with mine and I let her lead me out of the station, leaving the three amigos behind to fend for themselves. I just followed along silently, my gaze firmly on her face which was set in determination.

Not seeing her for the past twelve hours seemed like days of starvation to me, so I drank the sight of her in, starting from her hair, straight, silky and much longer than before. Then I noticed the dark shadows under her eyes, and I regretted the worry I had caused her. Her lips were next, remembering how soft and sweet they tasted just moments ago when they were on mine.

Then my attention shifted to her adorable attire, her bare legs that went on for miles before disappearing under a denim skirt, coupled with a dark and tight tee-shirt with a yellow logo emblazoned across her chest.

Oh, how cute, it was the _Batman_ symbol, a familiar sight from my favorite superhero comic book. I wondered if it was new because I hadn't seen her wearing it before. Unless she had gone shopping recently and-

_Holy cannoli_.

In an instant, my mind drew up a conversation I had with her one night in her room, the very first time I spent the night in her bed.

"_How do we know when either of us is ready? How do we tell each other?" _

"_Maybe we could get one of those bat signals on the roof to announce it. That would actually be super cool!_" I had said.

If my gut feeling was right, this was my bat signal. She was telling me that she's ready.

_Holy shit_.

* * *

**My twitter: cgsa_cher**

**Thank you, KRISTI, my professional beta. *kick* XD You're welcome. **

**Thank you to all my readers and 75 reviewers for the previous chapter alone. There are no words for how much I appreciate and love you all. Having said that… *kicks all of you in the tushie* **

**Do you feel loved yet?**


	25. Chapter 25

**Author's Note: I would like to grovel and beg for forgiveness for the lateness of this chapter. *flashes my puppy dog eyes and my trembling chin* **

**Work SUCKS. That's all I'll say. -_- I have reasons, see? So here's a super long chapter to make up for it! **

**I believe I've lost my marbles. Won't you lose some with me? *bats eyelashes* **

* * *

**A Woman's Worth: Chapter TWENTY FIVE **

_Elena's POV_

"Well, _you've_ been rather quiet."

I slid a sideways glance at the man beside me in an attempt to break the silence. Ever since we left the police station, Damon's bewildered expression didn't go by unnoticed, and I wondered if he was still nursing a painful shin or if he had finally noticed the gigantic clue spread across my chest.

Since an unfortunate kneeing of his groin hadn't rendered him speechless on a previous occasion, I'd put money that he was stunned by the Batman logo and what it represented.

Right now, we were sitting in his parked Camaro on his driveway, the engine left idling since neither of us made a move to leave the confines of his car upon returning to the mansion. "Alright, I'm sorry I kicked you," I continued when he didn't answer.

"No," he shook his head, finally letting his eyes meet mine. "I totally deserved that after the silly stunt I pulled earlier. _Especially_ after my whole 'I'm-never–going-to-leave-you' speech, and then that's _exactly_ what I went ahead and did anyway. I left you alone after that whole confrontation with …._him_, under a misguided belief that I was protecting you. No _wonder_ you're mad at me."

Well, I had to admit that I was beyond upset at first when I found out that he had taken responsibility for something he hadn't done, but after that, I was more worried than anything else, especially since I thought that he would get into trouble for lying to the police. I spent the day conjuring up images of Damon in an orange jumpsuit sharing a cell with a heavily tattooed and bearded man, looking at my gorgeous boyfriend while licking his lips and then throwing a bar of soap at his feet.

To say that I was frantic with concern would be a huge understatement.

"I _was_ mad at you and then I kept thinking about what you were willing to sacrifice for me, and all I could think of was to persuade the guys and Caroline to stage a prison break and distract the entire police force while I sneak you out of the country," I said thoughtfully while I reached over to hold his hand, amazed that just one simple touch could completely set my nerves at ease after the amount of stress we had both experienced today.

A deep chuckle came from beside me, making me snap my head up to peer at him in surprise.

"You actually tried to convince _Elijah_ to commit a felony to save me?" he asked, his blue eyes wide with a mixture of disbelief and amusement. "We're talking about Elijah, right? The no-nonsense straightforward _detective_ who is a stickler for rules and obeying laws? _That_ Elijah?"

"Well, he did _offer_ to drive the getaway car so as not to raise suspicion," I replied with a wry smile, taking pleasure at the shocked look on his weary face. "You have _no_ idea how loved you really are, do you?"

A frown marred his forehead, as if the notion that someone being selfless for _him_ was a foreign concept. Then, he opted not to answer my question by asking his own.

"Umm, speaking about love, would you, umm, care to explain what that is on your chest? Is that what I think it is, or am I just reading too much into things?"

Caught off guard by his abrupt change of subject, I followed his gaze down to the symbol that had drawn his attention, confirming my suspicions that I _was_ right; he _did_ notice the bat signal. If he had noticed and then chose to remain quiet about it, then perhaps he was as nervous as_ I_ was.

If that was the case, it was _not_ the way I had planned to start what should have been the most romantic night of our lives. Deciding to ease the pressure off of him a little, I opted to take a more light-hearted approach instead. "What, this?" I asked nonchalantly as I pulled my tee-shirt down and stared at my own chest. "I would have thought that you'd notice before. I've had these since I was a teenager."

"Oh." His face fell with that one word, looking disappointed at my answer. At this point, I had no idea if he was ready for the next step or not. "I thought-I thought that, you know, that it was your way of telling me-I mean, I haven't seen it on you before."

His nervous stuttering was so completely adorable that I couldn't help but to giggle out loud. "Sure you have! I mean, you even kissed them before, remember? Okay, so it was really dark and it was in the middle of the night, but I didn't think they were so unmemorable," I quipped, being cryptic on purpose.

"Wait, what?!" he burst out in confusion, looking like a little boy who got lost in translation. He was so much fun to mess with! "What are you talking about?"

"My breasts," I shrugged, pretending to be insulted by his lack of memory of them. Inwardly, the butterflies in my stomach were back, especially when I knew that he was going to call me out on the logo and what it meant.

What if _he_ wasn't ready? What if I was throwing myself at him like wanton hussy and all he really wanted was a good night's sleep?

"Your b-breasts?" he repeated.

I nodded, averting my eyes as uncertainty gripped me, no longer as confidant as I felt as when I chose this particular outfit. "I know they're small and guys prefer bigger ones, but at least they're natural. All the girls have them, you know? It's not like I can help it," I mumbled in a low voice.

"They're lovely!" he blurted suddenly, sounding insistent to defend my twin lumps of fat. I wasn't feeling the romance as much anymore. "I don't like big ones, I love _yours_! They're perfectly proportioned to the rest of your body and I remember them _vividly_!" he yelled out in frustration. "Sometimes, they're _all_ I think about!"

"Well, thank you!" I shouted in response to his angry tone than the actual words. "My breasts and I appreciate it so much!"

We stared at each other for a moment, our chests heaving with our weird shouting match, and then we both broke into identical grins. "Did we just-?"

"- have a fight over your breasts? Yeah," he chuckled, squeezing my hand in response. "They _are_ exquisite, but I was actually referring to that symbol on your shirt."

With a sheepish smile, I sighed and then admitted, "I know, but you seemed so uncomfortable that I started out wanting to mess with you and then I lost my nerve halfway through, thinking that perhaps I was too eager or over-confident about something that maybe _you're_ not ready for."

He was quiet for a while, appearing to be in deep thought and then finally, after some nail-biting seconds, spoke up. "I have to admit that I was stunned when I saw you sporting this particular logo at first, and my mind just went blank. I went like 'Holy shit' on a constant loop in my head the whole way home, and if I have to be honest, I don't really know _how_ to react."

"Okay, that-that's fair," I answered, my heart cringing with embarrassment at his words. "I mean, that's understandable, considering what you've been through today. You didn't need the added pressure and I'm sorry for not thinking clea-"

"Don't," he interrupted. "Don't apologize for letting me know how you feel. You should _always_ be comfortable about being honest with me. Maybe I just need to know what's going on in that head of yours, that's all. Why the sudden change of mind?"

Why did I decide to give myself to him, physically, emotionally, holding nothing back?

"Because I _love_ you, and I want to experience everything I can with _you_. Because I'm no longer afraid, and because I don't have a reason to be, not when I'm with you. Because I want to make a connection with you in every way possible, and that includes our minds, _bodies_ and souls. Because I've _been_ ready for a while, but I only made up my mind today when I kicked Mason in the crotch and rendered him useless. Because I realized that life is too short to be hung up on the past and their memories when I can create _new_ ones, _better_ ones with my soulmate."

I was breathless by the time I ended my lengthy speech about why I was ready to make love with him, but I could see the tension leaving his body with every word of 'because' I uttered. It also helped that I didn't hesitate at all during my monologue and that my voice had strengthened with conviction with each sentence.

His response was not at all what I expected. "So you smashed that asshole's nose _and_ his nuts, huh? Atta girl!"

"Seriously, out of all that, _that's_ the part you heard?" I rolled my eyes and shook my head in incredulity.

"I heard _all_ of it, but I wanted to tell you how proud I am of you, you know, _before_ I show up in my cape, mask and fancy gadgets and whisk you off into my bat cave," he announced with a lopsided smile, looking happier and more relieved than before.

My eyes widened as I gaped at him. "You mean you're ready, too? N-now? As in tonight? Don't you need time to think it over?"

"Hey, does Batman ever ignore the bat signal?" he countered smoothly, his hand reaching over to brush my fringe to the side, tucking them behind my ears. "No, I'll come whenever I'm summoned."

Then he looked positively appalled at his choice of words. "Th-that's, I mean, 'come' as in _appear_, n-not the _other_ thing…the eruption of sperm thing. Oh God, I'm such a doofus!" he exclaimed as he slapped his palm over his eyes.

I couldn't help the giggle that erupted from my mouth. I found him to be entirely too charming for his own good, his constant babbling and awkwardness made him seem more human and relatable, to be honest.

"Go ahead, laugh it up! Still want to have sex with a doofus soulmate incapable of proper speech?"

I shook my head solemnly as I gazed at him lovingly. "We're going to make love for the first time, Damon. Let's not cheapen it by calling it 'sex' when it's so much more than that."

A very audible swallowing sound could be heard within the confines of the car and then he had his door flung open, and I suddenly found myself being lifted up and over the middle console onto his lap. Within a matter of seconds, I was dragged out of the car through his opened door and picked up in his arms as he kicked the door shut and made his way into the mansion.

Only, we were halted in our tracks by an anxious blonde.

"Oh my God, I thought you guys were _never_ getting out of that car!" she burst out in exasperation as she ran over to intercept us. "You had me really worried there for a second! I thought that something went wrong, or Damon had been formally charged after all or that you guys passed out or something. _You_," she addressed the man who still had his arms wrapped around me, supporting my weight. "You had us all panicking at the stunt you pulled, mister! Do you even realize how worried we were or how upset you made Elena?"

"I'm Batman and I'm responding to her signal!" Damon yelled out when Caroline only seemed to be gathering steam with her rant. We all knew how long she could keep that up if we didn't nip it in the bud, so nip we did, especially when she didn't even seem to notice that I was being carried or that I was shooting daggers at her with my eyes.

"O…kay?" she hesitated while flashing him a puzzled frown. "And were you guys in your Batmobile? Is this the Wayne Manor? Is Elena a damsel you're bringing into your cave?" she wondered with a laugh.

"Yes, so will you please lock the door on your way out? Thanks!" With a smirk on his face, Damon started moving towards the staircase, obviously hinting that the conversation was over.

We had reached the halfway landing when Caroline shouted up at us, "Can I be Batgirl and Stef be Robin? I bet he'd look hot on a motorcycle…."

It was my very first experience being carried up a flight of stairs while my boyfriend and I both rolled our eyes at each other, fighting back our laughter.

* * *

I landed with a soft bounce on my bed, peering up at Damon as he remained on his feet beside me, his eyes slowly perusing over my face. With the softest feather-like motion, he ran one finger along my cheek, sending shivers down my spine.

"Amazing," he whispered.

I reached up with both hands to tug him down next to me, but he resisted, shaking his head. "I need a quick shower. I've been in prison for the past twelve hours and there's no telling what kind of germs have infected the place."

_Wow_. _Ten points to Gryffindor (*Harry Potter reference!) for the drama queen_.

"Prison? You were on Elijah's couch in his _office_ the whole time," I reminded him incredulously.

"Exactly," he replied, smiling softly and then leaning down to press a quick peck on my lips. "I won't be long, I promise. Don't. Move."

Flashing me a stern look, he disappeared into the attached bathroom, keeping the door open so that I could hear him. I had half a mind to join him in there but I didn't want our first lovemaking experience to be anywhere _near_ a toilet bowl. Call me old-fashioned, but to _me_, shower sex should be like the _fifth_ time you've slept together, not the first.

So I waited, wondering if I should start stripping down to my underwear or if he'd prefer me to remain as I was. Perhaps I should change into something sexy and dim the lights, or at least set the mood a little with some soft music and candles.

Before I could even _attempt_ to scout around for some candles, Damon had emerged from the bathroom, covered only with a towel around his waist and dripping water from his dark locks.

Pretty sure I had an out-of-body experience at _that_ sight of him.

"Wow, I didn't think you'd actually listen to me and really not move at all," he commented as he slowly approached me, his cheeks red from the shower.

My eyes trailed one particular bead of water that had escaped the ends of his hair, making its way down his shoulders, past his chiseled chest, over the hard planes of his abs and then being absorbed by the white towel just under his navel.

I envied that little drop of water. I wanted to _be_ that drop of water.

_Oh, wait. I can_.

Right when the thought popped into my head, I was up on my feet, my hands wrapped around the back of his neck, and I was kissing him with a hunger that I had never allowed myself to feel around him before. This kiss felt different, somehow. It felt rejuvenating, as if _this_ was our first kiss, minus the running commentaries from the peanut gallery. But also, he was returning my passion with the same hunger, holding nothing back because there was no longer any reason to.

We were simply…in the moment.

He lifted his head up from mine with a groan and looked deeply into my eyes with his half-lidded ones. "Are you _absolutely_, one hundred percent sure you want this as much as I do?"

"I do," I answered seriously, and I had a sudden vision of me saying those _exact_ words in a completely different setting, hopefully _fully_-dressed and standing in a church, in front of our friends, family, dog and soft toy. "More, I think."

With a nod, he scooped me up once again, my entire world tilting as I found myself in a horizontal position, floating out of the room.

"Where are we going?"

"Elena, the first time we make love, I want you to be on _my_ bed, in _my_ room and as far from the rest of the house as possible," he answered with his sparkling eyes focused on me, his legs guiding the way to his room as if by pure instinct.

_This_ time, _I_ was the one who swallowed audibly at his insinuations that we wouldn't be able to be quiet during the…coupling. Suddenly, all my lady bits were quivering with anticipation.

He set me down on my feet just on the inside of his bedroom doorway, pausing briefly to chase a bewildered Pig out of the room and locking the door behind her, muffling her sad whine. The soft click thundered in my ears, the sound seeming to bear a sense of finality for the step we were about to take. His head turned back to me, his piercing gaze direct on mine as we started moving towards his massive four-post bed, him moving forward and guiding me while my feet moved backwards until I felt the edge of the bed against the back of my knees.

I stood there, not knowing how to proceed. "Should I-should I get undressed?" I asked hesitantly, my fingers gripping the hem of my tee-shirt.

"Yes, but let _me_ do it," his soft whisper came.

I gulped when his fingers moved mine away so that he could take matters into his own hands –literally - and started peeling my top upwards, exposing my skin a little bit at a time as if he was unwrapping a fragile gift. He sucked in his breath as soon as the material was over my head, throwing it aside as his eyes traveled down the length of my body, resting briefly on the rapid rise and fall of my chest.

"Damon…" I breathed out when I couldn't wait any longer. I needed to feel his hands on me, his lips, _any_ form of contact but he was having none of that.

"Shh, just let me look at you for a second," he shushed when he heard the desperation in my voice.

With only the tips of his fingers, he slid the zipper of my denim skirt down, careful not to make any contact with my heated skin as he pushed the rigid material down past my hips. A low groan came from him when I was left in nothing but my matching underwear set, leaving almost nothing to the imagination.

"Turn around," he commanded softy, his eyes now filled with desire.

My body obeyed his words even when my mind was screaming at me to grab him and hurry the moment along as I kicked the skirt away. I had no idea how the man could stay in control when I was about to go insane with my raging libido.

With my back now to him, I felt, rather than saw, a disturbance in the air around my feet and upon looking down, I found the towel that was previously wrapped around his waist was now pooled around our feet.

_Shit just got real_.

Forcing myself to stay as still as a statue, I allowed Damon to hold the reins on our first sexual experience, surrendering all my trust to the one man I had complete faith in. I closed my eyes, my head automatically tilting when he pushed my hair away from one shoulder and pressed his lips very tenderly against the sensitive side of my neck, my spine tingling at the ticklish sensation.

Then, he placed his hands firmly on my shoulders, kneading them gently before pushing the straps down, his breaths warm and loud against my ear. There was a tightening around my chest, and then my bra fell away from my body, exposing my breasts to the chilly night air. His fingers then gathered my hair at the crown, holding the messy strands up before I felt his lips pressed against the nape, sending shivers down my back.

How did he know that my neck was one of the most erogenous zones of my body? How did he know exactly _where_ to touch to send me skyrocketing into the stratosphere, where I wouldn't mind if I never made it back to earth? How-

_Oh my. _

That was my breathless reaction when those lips made their way down my spine, sucking lightly on the protruding bones along my vertebral column. My skin was on fire as he trailed lower until he was kneeling right behind me, his mouth opening and closing at the small of my back. His tongue snaked out to have a little taste, the warm wetness making my back arch as he then began to peel off the only piece of clothing I had left, the lacy triangle that provided a modest cover for my womanhood.

"May I?"

I nodded my consent when he halted in mid-action.

His fingers dragged along my outer thighs, following the fabric down as he moved in an agonizingly slow speed, sending goosebumps erupting all over my skin. I released a soft sigh when they reached my ankles, and I obligingly stepped out of them when his hand lifted one foot, then the other.

I was naked, stripped completely bare for his eyes and it had never been a more liberating experience. I had nothing else to hide from him, no façade to hide behind, only little ole' me.

I hoped it was enough.

He took me by surprise when he stood up and spun me around, my eyes flying open as I met his darkened eyes. "You're _so_ beautiful," he told me, his tone sincere. "You're perfect, inside and out."

"How do _you_ know? You've never seen my insides," I blurted out without thinking, feeling embarrassed at his compliments.

We were standing extremely close, chest to chest, beating heart against beating heart, and more importantly, I could feel his _very_ hard maleness against my quivering softness. I resisted an urge to tilt my head down to catch a glimpse of what I was in for.

"I see it every day when you look at me with your big brown eyes, when you make every single one of my friends fall in love with you, and the way Anna opened up to you immediately. Even my _dog_ prefers you over me. _You_, Elena, are the very definition of the perfect woman."

I wondered if he'd mind if I melted into a messy puddle on his very expensive carpet.

"Nobody's perfect," I countered, my cheeks heating up under his intense gaze.

"To me, you are, and that's all that matters. Tell me what you're feeling right now," he pleaded.

Taking a deep breath, I launched into the first thought that came to mind. "I'm scared," I admitted before expanding my thought process. "I'm excited, I'm nervous, I'm _so_ incredibly turned on, and-and I'm curious to know how much your pretty carpets cost."

The response I received was a shocked chuckle followed by a confused expression. "_What_?"

"I'm not making sense, am I?"

"Not _exactly_, but I'm scared, too. And excited and nervous. You only have to press yourself harder against me to know how turned on _I_ am," he said gingerly, the corners of his lips upturned.

It was comforting to know that he was in the exact same boat as I was. "You _are_? Scared?"

"Mmhmm," he nodded, his thumbs brushing my hair aside before resting on my cheeks. "You see, it's been such a long time for me that I'm not sure if I remember how to do this correctly. What if I forget what goes where right in the middle of things? Should I call Ric or Elijah to get some tips? Or should I tiptoe down the hall and wake Stef up to give us a little show-and-tell? If Care Bear had spent the night, perhaps they'd provide some visual aids, too."

When I first donned my Batman tee-shirt earlier, I didn't expect to be giggling in the middle of a love-making session, but then again, this _is_ Damon. The playful glint in his eyes accompanied by his pleased smirk worked wonders for my nerves, perhaps even enough for me to chase him naked around the room with a pillow.

"You shouldn't be laughing at me, you know? You're only teasing me even more with your vibrating body while I'm trying very hard to concentrate on other things aside from your very naked and sexy body," he warned, wagging his forefinger in front of my nose. "Besides, I'm pretty sure Batman never needed any sex tip from Robin."

Not sure what possessed me but I was feeling more bold by then. I suddenly opened my mouth and caught his finger, wrapping my lips around it and swirling my tongue as he gasped in surprise. My cheeks hollowed out as I sucked teasingly, moving my lips up and down the digit, keeping my attention on his dazed expression.

His mouth gaped wide open for a few seconds, and then with a deep growl, he sent us sprawling back on his cool sheets, him pressing down firmly on top of me as he claimed my lips. My arms lifted to wrap around him, my fingers gripping his broad back, running them all over and ended up buried into his damp and dark hair. Our lips slid across each other's, our breaths mingling as he parted my lips with his tongue, delving deeply while I returned the favor.

His hands were _everywhere_ at once; one hand cupping my cheek, the other squeezing the dip of my waist and then trailing downwards along my thighs before he hooked my knee up to wrap my leg around his hip.

_Well hello there, Mr. Salvatore_.

I didn't need a glimpse at his hardness to know _exactly_ how engorged he was, and how the rest of the night was going to be spent. I only hoped that my voice wouldn't be hoarse tomorrow.

All thoughts fled from my mind when he started making his journey south, raining kisses down my chin, sucking at the jaw line for a moment before continuing lower, trailing his wet tongue along my collar bone, swiping over the hollow at my throat before stopping at my chest. Raising his head to peer up at me, he moved his palms to cover my breasts, squeezing softly and massaging them until the peaks hardened against his hands.

My eyes drifted close as I braced myself for the moment of truth. I expected some form of repressed memories to emerge like the last time we were in a similar scenario, but when his lips closed around one nipple, all I did was to arch against him in response, a long drawn-out moan escaping from my lips as pleasure shot through me. There was no disturbing image that sprang to mind, nothing but pure unadulterated desire.

I clutched his head to me, holding him in place as his tongue turned me into a writhing mess on his sheets. He lavished his attention on one tight bud, alternating between sucking and nibbling and then shifting to the other one, driving me insane with uncontrollable lust. I was already giddy with joy that I no longer had a mental block that might have prevented me from enjoying myself, so I was well on my way to delirium when he moved lower still, dipping his tongue into my navel first before gently nudging my thighs open to fit the width of his shoulders.

I released a throaty moan when I felt his breath against my intimate spot, my body tensing in preparation of the feel of his mouth _there_. But then he surprised me when he turned his head to press his lips on my inner right thigh, his hands kneading the fleshy part of my hips. With deliberate slowness, he inched his way lower still, periodically pausing to nip and suck along my feverish skin all the way down to my toes and then his attention shifted to the other leg, repeating the same torture.

I tensed again when he returned to the apex of my thighs, but then he ignored the throbbing part of me that was desperate for his attention, choosing instead to work his way back up my torso to finally end on another mind-numbing kiss on my lips.

"You okay so far?" His concerned whisper sounded loud in the stillness of the night, and I quickly nodded my head, my eyes opening to see him leaning over me, his lips now swollen and red.

"You?" I questioned in return.

"I'm hanging on by a thread," he confessed, donning a sheepish smile. "I'm trying to take this slow and easy so that my pride remains intact. If I did even _half_ the things my body's screaming at me to, our first lovemaking session would be over in less than thirty seconds. That's how _badly_ I want to bury myself inside you and prove to you what fine Italian craftsmanship this bed is made of."

_Damn, this man sure does have a way with words_.

Before, my lady bits were quivering. Now, they were downright dripping. "Well, I want to find out anyway, so if I may make a suggestion?" I lifted an eyebrow and waited for his agreement, and then seeing his head tilt, I went on. "Try to think of something unpleasant to keep yourself distracted."

"And what are _you_ going to do?"

A slow smile spread across my face. "I'm going to do what _my_ body wants me to." With that, I used my strength to roll him over so that he now laid on his back, my hands pinning his wrists down as I kissed him soundly, muting his objections.

After a battle of tongue-sucking and playful lip-biting, I began my exploration of the masterpiece that was his body. I teased him mercilessly, just as he did to me, moving slowly down to trace his contoured chest with my mouth, fluttering my tongue at his nipple sprinkled with fine hair. I flicked over the nub repeatedly, making him groan and take the Lord's name in vain as I made my way over to my bonus level, finally getting a full-frontal view of his…Damon-ness.

_Oh Lord Almighty_.

It was a thing of such beauty, a shrine should be erected in its honor. If Michelangelo was still alive, I'd bet he'd love to sculpt a statue of a nude Damon, in all his fully-erect glory. But then again, I wouldn't want to share this intimate sight of my boyfriend with the world, so perhaps I'd opt for being selfish and keep this secret to myself.

"Elena," Damon choked out when I kept admiring the sight in front of me. "What are you - oh gaaah!"

His breathy exhale was the result of my sudden impulse to touch his veiny member without any warning, causing his hips to arch right off the bed. I had my fingers wrapped tightly around him, feeling the heat emanating from it as I tentatively stroked up and down the length. And then I was denied my new fixation when he tore my fingers away and changed our positions so abruptly, my head was spinning from the move.

"Ladies first," he growled.

By the time I had gathered my wits about me, his dark head was between my thighs, his focus zeroing in on my pleasure button, my hips rocking against his exploring tongue. My fingers automatically reached down to grab on to his hair, pulling much too hard as long-forgotten sensations began to pulse through me. It started deep inside my belly, a dull ache at first and then it spread to my breasts, making them feel fuller and heavier as seconds ticked by. Then my thighs started trembling over his shoulders, the muscles twitching with every firm swipe of his tongue.

I knew what was about to happen, so I reached for it, my entire body braced for the climax he was trying to give me but it remained elusive. For a split second, I wondered if my inability to reach my peak was due to my troubled past since I was _right_ there on the edge. Tears of frustration escaped from my closed eyes as disappointment coursed through me, but then Damon – bless the man – changed tactics.

I felt his finger rubbing my slippery lower lips, and then gently probing at the entrance, moving in halfway and then withdrawing. He repeated the action several times until there was a feeling of fullness within me, a very strange but oddly fulfilling sensation as he rubbed against my inner walls. The dull ache started anew, only _this_ time, it came much faster and more potent when combined with the relentless assault of his lips.

A change of angle of his single digit penetration did me in. There was no mistaking it this time; not only had I reached the peak, I was free-falling down the other side with no parachute on, my release wrenching a guttural scream from my throat. The tears pouring down my face were not of frustration this time round, but from months of pent-up fear and stress. I was free.

I was left gasping for breath, my body feeling weightless as I floated back to consciousness to find a very anxious-looking Damon staring down at me, no doubt panicking at my wet face.

"Did I _hurt_ you?" he bit out angrily, as if he was upset at himself.

No, no, I couldn't have him thinking that! He would never lay a finger on me ever again. "Happy tears," I gasped out, still struggling to breathe properly. "Relieved tears. _Orgasmic_ tears. _Oh-God-I-came-so-hard_ tears."

"_Really_? You're not lying to spare my feelings?" he asked in semi-disbelief.

"You just sent me to heaven and back. At this point, I'm incapable of lying or do anything that would require thinking. Go ahead, ask me anything," I urged as I attempted to lift my lifeless hand to wipe my tears.

"What's one plus one?"

I told him to ask me any question and he chose _math_? He's lucky I was still recovering from my climax to hit him over the head. "A headache?" I answered instead. "I said nothing that would require thinking!"

A deep chuckle escaped him, causing his body to rumble deliciously against my still-tingling body. "You're so adorable," he laughed, kissing me on my nose before he rolled us around again, positioning me so that I was now straddling his hips. "Okay, woman. _You_ steer this time, but be gentle because this ole' horse hadn't been galloping in a while. A strut or two and we might be heading back to the stables, if you know what I mean."

His analogy of his _efficient_ climax might need some work, but I felt insanely pleased that I was his first sexual partner in a long time. I might have to have _that_ particular conversation with him at some point, but this wasn't the time nor the place. Using his bad analogy, I was about to ride my stallion.

"Remember, think about something unpleasant," I reminded him as I ran my fingers teasingly past his nipples, his eyes closing in pleasure. I leaned down to enclose one with my lips, biting softly on the tip until his hands came down to squeeze my hips, hard. With a cheeky smirk, I rotated my hips, rubbing my wetness against his erection, making him moan out loud.

Playfulness aside, I was dying to feel him inside me for the first time, and since I was already well-lubricated, I didn't want to waste anymore time. We could take our time and play another day. For now, I wanted him. I _needed_ him. With a firm grip on his shaft, I positioned myself over him and began a very slow descent starting with just the tip.

"Wait," he suddenly yelled out, halting me in my tracks. I hovered over him, wondering if he had changed his mind. "We need _protection_, Elena."

_Oh_. _How unromantic._

"It's okay," I assured him. With a thrust of my hips, I sank down onto him, ignoring his sputtering protests as my heat enveloped him, my head thrown back as I savored the feeling of Damon being _inside_ me at last. I lifted my hips a little and then thrust down swiftly so that he was now deeper than before, my tight passage stretched taut to accommodate him fully.

"Dammit, woman," he growled as he sat up, the new position accidentally causing him to fill me to the hilt. I threw my arms around his back, kissing him passionately while I rode him fiercely, gaining speed and momentum as he tried to caution me further. "Oh God…ant farm…cow dung…holy hell, woman, we need a - Bank of Merchant - a condom," he managed to gasp against my lips.

"No, we don't," I breathed out choppily with no intention of stopping. I could already feel the beginning of yet another wave coming, my choppy breaths a clear indication of my rising orgasm. "I'm on the pill."

Despite his concern for the lack of protection, his body had other ideas as his hands were guiding my hips, his nails pressed firmly into the flesh while I moved against him. His own hips started bucking against me and right when I felt his blunt tip hitting my cervix, I let out a squeal as I came apart. Various colorful fireworks exploded behind my eyes, my body taking on a life of its own as I reveled in the euphoric ecstasy that surrounded me.

I was no longer bound to Earth; instead, I was merely a soul drifting off into a strange land where everything was bright and colorful and filled with…pug puppies. Hundreds of them, all climbing on top of each other, clamoring for attention. And in the middle of them stood one lone man, his complexion pale, his smile wide, his handsome face a familiar sight. Even in my imagined foreign land, Damon was there with me in it.

A loud masculine grunt sent me back down to Earth, with me still sitting on top of Damon, my inner muscles still spasming around him. I opened my eyes in time to see his face screwed up with concentration, his mouth hanging open to breathe deeply.

"Holy f- Ric's hairy ass!" he burst out right before he erupted inside me, his arms wrapped like vice around my waist as he buried his face into my neck. His body shook violently when he continued spilling his seed deep into my belly. A sudden vision of a dark-haired and blue-eyed baby appeared into my mind and I experienced a longing like nothing I'd ever felt before.

_Maybe one day_.

We collapsed back on the bed wearily, with me sprawled above him, our nether region still intimately joined together. It was a truly emotionally satisfying experience for me. The two orgasms I received were the added cherries on top of a very delicious bowl of ice cream.

"Elena?" His voice sounded deeper with my ear pressed against his chest, his hand absently rubbing my back in a comforting gesture.

"Hmm?" I answered, my eyes refusing to open as I burrowed my head deeper into the crook of his neck.

"You okay?"

"Mmhmm," came my lengthier reply.

Damon stiffened under me, his hand frozen in the act of lulling me to sleep. "You'd tell me if you're not, right?"

"Mmhmm," I repeated, wriggling my body as a hint for him to resume his back-stroking. "That was just...WOW. Except for one thing, though."

"What is it, babe?" To my joy, his hand had resumed his light exploration of my back, and I purred in contentment as I relaxed onto him.

"Should I be worried that you called out Ric's name and referred to his ass as you came?"

He vibrated under me as he erupted into laughter, and my body shook along with his. It felt like a pleasant massage. "I was trying to hold off my climax and think of unpleasant thoughts and I thought _that_ would work. Obviously, I was too late and I came like a freight train anyway. Sorry for that mental image."

"S'okay. I love you anyway, _despite_ your odd fixation on your buddy's rear end," I said with a loud yawn, my eyes drooping close.

His arms wrapped tightly around my back and I felt his head tilt down to press a kiss on the top of my forehead followed by a whisper, "I love _you_ more. Sleep well, Elena."

I nodded in agreement, my mind already shutting down as I dreamt of that foreign land filled with puppies and a smiling Damon, walking towards me and holding the hand of a young carbon copy of him. Our _son_.

I woke up the next morning with the widest smile on my face.

* * *

_(Damon's POV)_

I came to in the morning with my face frozen with a grin.

Our positions had somehow reversed in the middle of the night; Elena was now lying with her back on the mattress and I found myself curled around her, almost half on top of her. My grin broadened as the memories of the previous night came flooding back and I could feel my cheeks reddening at the lewd images that popped up in my head.

I heaved a contented sigh and lifted my head, peering up at the still-sleeping Elena. To my delight, she, too, was wearing a dreamy smile and I took pride in knowing that I probably put it there with my Damon-Salvatore-moves. Worried that I was too heavy for her, I gently extricated myself from our tangle of limbs but the slightest movement from me had stirred her awake.

An eye opened, revealing glowing brown eyes and then the other, her gaze immediately falling on me, her smile widening. "Good morning, _lover_," my brunette beauty greeted, stretching against me.

"Good morning, my dear," I replied with a quick glance at her exposed bits not covered by the sheet. "That was the best sleep I've had in years. I think you wore me out last night."

"Me too, actually. I slept like a baby - I-I mean, like a log," she amended with a blush. I wondered what was wrong with her first analogy.

"Okay, so we've agreed to spend the day in bed, then? To recuperate from our exhaustion and maybe even to," I paused to gather her in my arms and press my lips along her shoulder blades, "exhaust ourselves further."

She responded with a playful smack on my arm and giggled cheekily before shaking her head. "No, we can't. I invited Anna and Pearl to come over today so that she could play with Pig. Pearl also wanted to thank you for your help yesterday and I'm sure you want to see Anna too, right?" she enquired and she _was_ right, of course. I just didn't see the rush. "What time is it?"

A quick check on my antique clock on my night stand gave me the answer. "Just after ten. Wow, we _really_ slept in today."

"What?! It can't be! They're coming at eleven," she gasped, lurching upright in a panic. Without waiting for my response, she swung her legs around the edge of the bed and stood up quickly, not really caring that she was naked. Then she disappeared from sight altogether. "Ooof!"

"Elena?" I called out anxiously, sliding hurriedly across the bed to peer over the edge to find her sprawled out on her back on the carpet, a dazed expression on her face. "What happened? Are you okay?"

She nodded, to my relief. "Yeah. I swear I _used_ to have legs. I feel completely boneless for some reason."

Satisfied that she was fine, maybe slightly embarrassed, I couldn't help the bubble of laughter that escaped me. "I'm _that_ good, huh?" I exclaimed with a certain degree of smugness. I made my girlfriend boneless on the first try. A guy's gotta have credit where credit was due. "Last night was pretty special for me, too."

"It was the _best_ night of my life, but I'm sure it's just bad blood circulation, that's all. You know, I'm just going to lie down here for a second."

_Such a spoil sport_. "Uh uh, no way am I going to let you lie down on the floor, looking all sexy and delicious without a stitch of clothing on. Come on," I told her, still laughing when I slid off the bed, intending to lift her back up onto the mattress. "Ooof."

_Well, what do you know_? It appeared as if _I_ was boneless too, as I found myself lying right next to her without any recollection of how I got there.

"Let me guess; bad blood circulation?" she quipped with a teasing grin.

"Yeah. You know, the floor's pretty comfy, actually. Never realized it before," I mumbled, not meeting her eyes. "Maybe we should hang out down here for a bit, just to appreciate my expensive carpet."

"Mmhmm," she rolled her eyes in exasperation at my obvious attempt to preserve my pride. "I'm _that_ good, huh?"

_Cheeky monkey_! "Yes, you are, and since we have some time to kill, and since we're, you know, just hanging out with nothing to do, we could…well, we could find something to do to occupy our time, right?" I grinned as I made my suggestion, only half-serious as a way to tease her. What I didn't expect was for her to actually consider it.

"Well, I _guess_ we could, since we're not doing any - mmpf," she broke off when my mouth covered over hers, my hard-on already making its presence known as it stood at half-mast at the idea of a replay of last night's performance. It only took a throaty moan from her to send my mind to the gutters and my buddy 'Not-so-Little Salvatore' to be at full attention, ready for round two.

And maybe stain my carpet a little. Eh, I never really liked it anyway.

* * *

I couldn't resist that extra pep in my step as I walked hand-in-hand with Elena downstairs, not quite eager to rejoin the rest of the world but would only do so for Anna and Pearl. Even Elena seemed to be in high spirits this late morning with her flushed cheeks, sparkling eyes and a bright smile as we kept exchanging knowing glances while making our way to the living room.

Also, my cheeks were starting to hurt from smiling so damn much.

"Sorry we woke up late," I apologized to the group that were gathered around a squirming pug, her legs dangling in the air as a little girl stroked its belly. I cleared my throat before coming up with an excuse. "A hell of a day yesterday, you know, what with me being in _prison_ and all."

The group consisted of the usual suspects; my brother and his girl, Blondie, hairy ass owner Ric and _his_ girl, the sexy doc, Elijah and his…perfectly combed hair. There were now joined by Pearl and a smiling Anna, seeming thrilled as she played with my dog. Hearing my voice, she looked up and ran over to me, flinging her short arms around my thighs.

"Thank you, Uncle Damon," she said, peering up at me with her toothless grin. Then she peeked over to her Mom who nodded encouragingly at her, looking overjoyed to hear her daughter speaking again. "From Mama, too."

"Hey, little lady," I greeted her with a broad grin, now only realizing how much I missed her. It felt good to see her with my own eyes, knowing that she was safe and relatively unharmed. I knelt down on one knee to hug her properly, kissing her cheek as I did. "You're _both_ welcome. I see you've made a new friend, huh? Do you like Pig? Has she been a good girl?"

Nodding excitedly, Anna grabbed my hand and pulled me over to where the pooch sat, guiding my hand to run my fingers over the extended round belly. I knew the _exact_ spot to tickle, so I wriggled my fingers over her lower abdomen, making Pig's four legs tremble madly, causing a loud giggle to escape from Anna beside me. I placed her tiny fingers where mine were and she proceeded to tickle the living daylights out of my overweight pug. I hoped my dog would survive all the excessive attention and wouldn't suddenly keel over from all this workout.

"There's something different about you," my observant detective friend said slowly, his puzzled gaze aimed at me. "You seem relaxed and…uncharacteristically chirpy."

I slid a sideways glance at my girlfriend and we both attempted to hide our smiles as we pretended to act nonchalant. "Err, I guess being in prison made me have a fresh outlook in life and I'm just grateful to be here…with you guys," I added as an afterthought. "Life is short, right? We should just take each day as it comes and enjoy it to the fullest with the people we love."

Elijah continued looking at me thoughtfully, doubt coloring his features. "Nope, that's not it. Speaking of 'prison' have you seen my paper puncher? I couldn't find it after you used it to create heart-shaped holes in all my reports."

"Oh yeah," a goofy grin appeared on my face as I recalled how I spent the most boring day on earth at his office, using the stationery on everything I could get my hands on. Good times. "I think I left it on that farty couch after I tried to use it on my belt. Oh, for the record, I might have also tried to spell out S-O-S on all your name cards with it, too."

My confession was received with a dirty look from the detective and a head shake from an amused Elena.

"You know what, 'Lijah? I think you're right," Ric piped in with his two cents. "Our boy's all happy, he has that twinkle in his bright blue eyes and he seems to have this healthy glow on his skin. Either he's pregnant or he had sex with E-L-E-N-A!"

Shocked gasps came from the rest of the group, while Pearl hastily covered Anna's young ears from the dirty word…which apparently was my girlfriend's name. "You spelled the wrong word, dummy," scolded Meredith, laughing at her boyfriend.

"Well, last night he _was_ Batman," added the ever-helpful blonde. "They were in his Batmobile for a long time before he abducted Elena into his bat cave."

Silence.

_More_ silence.

The others exchanged confused looks and then simultaneously shook their heads. "Anyway," Ric said hastily after a long moment of attempting to decipher her comments, "Damon, can I talk to you in the kitchen for a moment? Umm, Elijah, too. Let's give the girls some time to catch up."

"Hey!" my brother objected. "What am I; chopped liver?"

"_Stephanie_, you heard the man. You _girls_ should stay and have some girl talk," I told him, chuckling at his expense when he grumbled good-naturedly. Reluctantly, I pressed a brief kiss on Elena's hand before releasing it, wondering what the hell my buddy wanted to talk about that was so hush-hushed.

We made our way into the kitchen, _the_ place for our family discussion these days. It seemed like all the heavy and important topics are tackled in this very room.

"First things first; did you or did you not have sex with your girlfriend?" The opening question was posed by the detective who was well-known for his interrogation skills. Well, if he thought that he could break me to spill the beans on my private sex life, he had another thing coming.

"_Seriously_? You really want us to sit around and gossip like a group of teenage girls about my sex life?" I rolled my eyes in disgust.

"Ah ha!" he exclaimed triumphantly. "So you're admitting you _have_ a sex life, meaning that you two totally did it!"

Surprisingly, Ric came to my defense. Or so I thought. "What are we, fifteen? You don't just ask a guy that kind of question, Elijah. It's inappropriate." There was a brief pause and then he sank down onto a barstool and grinned widely. "We want _details_. Who initiated it? _Where_ did you do it? How long did it last? Were there fireworks? Did you cuddle afterwards? Give us the dirt, dude!"

Seriously, out of the thousands of men in Mystic Falls, I ended up having these two clowns as my best friends? "Okay fine. Do you remember the first time you guys watched porn on those video cassettes? The way your heart rate sped up when the actress shows up scantily-clad, their boobs spilling out of their tops? And then when she strips down and you saw her fully naked for the first time? Can you remember that lust, that wild desire you felt back then?"

I waited as the two men stared at me with glassy eyes, their mouths gaping as they hung onto every word. They swallowed hard and nodded. "Well, good. With those memories, then you guys don't need to live vicariously through me 'cause I ain't telling you guys anything," I burst out laughing as their faces fell in disappointment.

"_Excuse_ us for being concerned about you two! I mean, it's tricky being intimate with someone who has had a violent and traumatic past recently. I just wanted to check to see if she's emotionally ready and if you need my help to set up some counseling, that's all. I'm not the pervert you seem to think I am," Elijah said defensively, folding his arms across his chest. "Not _this_ time, anyway."

"Yeah," Ric nodded in agreement, "what _he_ said, except for the pervert part. I'm a pervert _all_ the time."

"Gee, thanks," I replied sarcastically, knowing them too well to buy into that excuse. "But we're both fine, and she's doing exceptionally well. There's nothing to worry about. If that's all you guys had in mind, then I'll just mosey on-"

"I've been thinking about marriage," Ric blurted all of a sudden, catching the two of us off guard.

Elijah and I raised our brows and leaned forward to study our suddenly nervous friend. "I don't know what to say, Ric. I mean, I'm flattered as hell but I'm in love with my girlfriend and I'm _pretty_ sure she wouldn't approve. Maybe when we're forty and neither of us is married and there are no goats…" I babbled jokingly.

"To Meredith?" Elijah ventured wisely.

"_Of course_ to Meredith!" Ric hissed through his teeth, glaring at me. "You were right earlier, Damon, about how life is short and we should spend it with the person we love. Well, I love Mer and by some miracle, she loves me back. And after everything that has happened recently with Lockwood and Anna, well I can't help but think that we really don't know what could happen in the future, you know? So, in the spirit of 'Carpe Diem' or seizing the day, I'm thinking about asking Mer to marry me."

_Woah_. He actually made sense and everything. It was as if he truly believed in everything he said. Sure made _me_ almost want to go out and buy a ring to make my own proposal. "Well, _somebody_ sure wore his big-boy pants today!"

"Just be grateful he wore any pants at all," Elijah quipped, smiling at our buddy. "So do you have a ring yet? How are you going to propose? And most importantly, who is your best man?"

"Me!" I answered immediately.

"Me-dammit!" he followed half a second later, ending with a curse when I was much faster than him. Ha!

"Guys! There's not even gonna _be_ a wedding if the bride hasn't accepted yet. And yes, I do have a ring," Ric said as he fished a velvet box out of his jeans pocket and slid it across the counter to us.

"You went ring shopping without us?" I asked, feeling slighted that I wasn't even asked along. I reached over to the ring box and opened it, finding an old-fashioned type of oval diamond ring, surrounded by smaller diamonds on either side. That was some serious bling. "Elijah, will you agree to be my lawfully wedded dishwasher for all of eternity?" I joked as I held the ring out to him.

"I will if you'll agree to be my lawfully wedded plumber, electrician, and mechanic," Elijah countered in an instant, smirking at Ric.

"And I hereby declare you, Dumb and Dumber. You may kiss my ass," Ric retaliated as he snatched the ring back, setting it back into the box and stuffing it back into his pocket. "The ring's a family heirloom. It belonged to my grandmother, if you must know. Now if you two idiots are done goofing around, I really need an idea for a proposal. Do I take her out to a romantic dinner and slip it in her champagne? Do I get down on one knee? What do I do?"

_Yawn_. "Okay, first of all, cliché much? Those are for people with no imagination, Ric. You take her out to a candlelight dinner and she'll see it coming a mile away! You want to be different, to catch her by surprise. You can do it _here_, tonight, in front of all your beloved friends."

"You mean in public? What if she says no?" Elijah asked in surprise. He just _had_ to be Negative Nancy, didn't he?

"She's _not_ gonna say no!" I argued back. "Asking her in front of all of us is the best guarantee that she'll say yes because we're all witnesses, right? Mer is not going to risk hurting Ric's feelings like that. In fact, it's perfect!"

Ric released a shaky breath and rubbed his palms anxiously on his jeans. "If it's a guaranteed 'yes', then I'm in. How _exactly_ am I going to ask, though?"

A mischievous smile appeared on my face as an idea struck me. It would be adorable and it _could_ melt everyone's hearts. "Leave it to me."

* * *

The rest of the day was filled with joy and laughter as the group hung around the living room, watching little Anna play with Pig and exploring around the house with her new four-footed friend in tow. She and her mother left later in the evening, leaving the rest of us to prepare dinner, in which Elena cooked while I distracted her.

I stole numerous kisses when I thought no one was looking, and even when they were, I _still_ indulged in plenty of PDAs with her. One would think that the sexual tension would ease up a little since we had two rounds of toe-curling sex - sorry, _lovemaking_ – so far, but all it did was to further add fuel to the blazing fire we got going on. I couldn't wait for the gang to leave so that I could drag her upstairs and made both of us boneless again.

But, tonight wasn't about us; it was about Ric and his future bride. So, after a scrumptious dinner, we all sat lounging around in front of the fireplace, talking and sipping our drinks - tea for _me_, and wine for the rest. By my insistence, I had Elena on my lap, her head leaning back on my shoulder as my arms circled her waist from behind. That was my most comfortable position to sit because I no longer believed in sitting side-by-side with her and merely holding hands. It wasn't close enough.

So, I was filled with great reluctance when Ric flashed me a head tilt from the other side of Meredith on the same couch, giving me the signal that it was time. I was so tempted to feign ignorance and remain in my extremely comfortable bubble with my girl, but then again, my best friend was about to get himself a wife. Of course I had to be there for him. I heard that marriage was a big deal and everything.

So, I rubbed Elena's arms lovingly before shifting her position so that I could stand up, her moan of protest almost making me change my mind, but I remained strong. Okay no, I actually had to get up to pee anyway. All that moving had set off my bladder system, so I quickly ducked into the bathroom before I joined Ric at the archway to the living room.

"Chill out, bro," I told a pacing Ric, his face looking tensed. "She'll say yes and then there will be celebrating and more wine after this. Try not to look so petrified or you'll freak her out."

"You're right, you're right," he repeated nervously, still pacing. "So you've prepped her? She knows what to do?"

"Only one way to find out," I replied with a confident smile. "Come here, girl," I called out to Pig, her wrinkled face turning towards us from under the coffee table. I gestured to her frantically, trying not to attract the attention of the others and then sighed with relief when she stood up lazily, shook herself and then trotted over to where we waited.

I tied the ring box to her collar, and placed the hand-written card with the words 'WILL YOU MARRY ME' in block letters in her mouth, careful so that her drool wouldn't drip all over the envelope.

"Okay, remember what we practiced this afternoon? Well, you're up, girl. Take this card and go over to Meredith," I instructed her, pointing to the Doc on the sofa I just vacated. "See her on that couch? The smart-looking attractive brunette? That's Meredith, right? You know her. Take this to her and wait there, okay? Who's a good girl? _You_ are! Now go to her," I waved her off.

Pig eyed me warily and then turned around, moving slowly in the direction I had pointed out, her head bent low because of the foreign object tied around her neck. Ric and I watched with bated breaths as she approached Meredith, and then she turned back to look at me, as if asking me for confirmation. I nodded excitedly and smiled broadly, giving her a thumbs-up sign for a job well done.

Then it all went wrong.

As she came to stand in front of Meredith who was in a deep conversation with Blondie, the pug's attention shifted to the _other_ brunette beside her, to Elena. It was like watching a slow-motion pie-throwing contest; you know exactly what's coming but you can't help but watch the entire scene unblinkingly anyway.

Pig had turned her body towards Elena, her round head coming to rest on the edge of the seat right next to Elena's thighs as she wagged her pudgy tail. I watched in disbelief as my girlfriend absently snaked her hand down to pet Pig's head before noticing the card in her mouth.

"What do you have for me, Pig, hmm?" I heard her say. I heard low curses coming from the man beside me, but I couldn't tear my eyes away. "What is it?"

She gently pried the card out between the dog's teeth and opened it, her eyes widening as she read the contents. Then her eyes drifted up, searching around the room until they met my terrified ones. I could see the questions in them, all probably wondering if I had taken leave of my senses. Then she returned her attention to the waiting Pig, finally noticing the velvet box hanging from her collar.

"That's _my_ ring! She-she's going to-oh my God, why the hell did I _listen_ to you?!" Ric muttered, hitting my arm rather painfully.

I saw Elena opening the box, her breath catching as she had the first look at the ring, and then exhaling as she raised her eyes back to me.

"Damon!" hissed the man beside me, his grip tightening on my upper arm, cutting off my circulation. "I think you just accidentally proposed to _your_ girlfriend. _Do_ something!"

My wide eyes stared back at the brunette across the room from me, my gaze never wavering from hers. Suddenly, I had to know her answer. As crazy as it sounded in my head and the numerous warnings that it was all moving too fast, I didn't care. I _had_ to know.

"Shut up for a second, Ric," I whispered back, shrugging his hand away. "I need to hear her answer."

My heart was pounding in my ears, and I'm pretty sure I had a horrified yet expectant expression on my face, but I waited. Her eyes drifted over to Ric for a second, and then back to me, holding my gaze.

The corners of her lips turned upwards and my heart soared.

* * *

**Gee, MORE misunderstandings? Damn me to hell, right? Let me guess; you're coming at me with a torch and a shovel? Sounds like every other day to me! :D**

**What do you think Elena's going to do? And how much trouble is Pig in right now? Poor doggy. **

**My twitter: cgsa_cher**

**Everyone, please follow my awesome beta, (tukct81) Kristi's new story 'Returning Home', an alternative ending to episode 4x23. *kicks you all* Thank you. **

**Also, a little shout out for my young friend Kim's (kimbuhlay) completed story 'All I'll Ever Be'. **

**Read my former beta Kate's (This Is My Escape) little gem, 'Four Lettered Lie' while you're at it, too. **

**Read and review! I'll reply if you are logged in. Thanks!**


End file.
